Nibelheim High School
by Pokebrawler09
Summary: Taylor Lazarus and Cloud Strife have been childhood friends for years. Now that they are juniors in high school will their friendship become something more?
1. Chapter 1: First Day of Junior Year

**Chapter 1: First Day of Junior Year**

Today is September 3rd and that means it's the first day of school once again at Nibelheim High School, but this time as a junior. My first two years there were pretty good to say the least. One of the reasons I like the school is because we don't have to wear school uniforms. I woke up at around 6 in the morning knowing that school starts at 7:15 in the morning, took a quick shower, put on a nice white t-shirt and blue jeans, put my school supplies in my backpack and walked downstairs seeing my parents eating breakfast in the kitchen. "Morning Mom and Dad!" I said happily. "Morning sweetheart ready for your first day?" said my Mom. "I think so but I don't really know who will be in my classes this year." I said. "I still can't believe that you're a junior now." said my Dad.

"Zeus don't rush it." said my Mom. "How come?" I asked. "To me and your father, we're just surprised how you have grown up this fast now. We still remember you as a little baby but now seeing you all grown up to a beautiful young woman." said my Mom. "Just with my eyes and curly hair." said my Dad. We laughed for a minute and then finished our breakfast. "This is it after this year ends my senior year will finally come!" I said. "Now don't you start rushing too." said my Mom. "Alright I won't. I'm just excited that's all." I said.

I grabbed my bag and walked out the front door ready to walk to school even though it's a five minute walk there and back. As I walked up to my mailbox I saw a boy my age with spiky blond hair getting on his bike ready to drive to school too. I saw him look up seeing me. "Hey Taylor." he said. "Hey Cloud." I said as I walked up to him. Cloud Strife is one of the most popular boys in school and is my childhood friend ever since we were babies. Ever since I was eight years old I had a crush on him. But ever since he started dating Tifa a year ago I kept feeling my heart break everytime I saw him with her but I try hard not to show it. He always saw me as his best friend but I saw him as my soulmate. "I'd thought that you were picking up Tifa right about now." I said. "She's waiting for me at school." said Cloud. "So I guess that you're picking up one of the guys then?" I said.

He chuckled a little bit from my question. "You're too funny." said Cloud. I chuckled a little bit too and smiled at him. Cloud then got off his bike, walked up to me and gave me a hug. "Hey Tay, has any guy told you that you're cute?" Cloud asked me. I looked up into his beautiful blue eyes all surprised from his question. "Well not until now." I said shyly. He smiled happily and then got back on his bike. "Hop on." said Cloud. "Are you sure?" I asked. "I'm sure. You remember when I got this for my birthday we both took a little ride through Nibelheim together, having a fun time together just like old times." said Cloud. "Yeah I remember it all very clearly and we didn't get home 'til 1 in the morning. That was a fun day." I said. We both laughed happily. I got onto the back of his bike putting my arms around him and we both rode off to school.

About two minutes later we both made it to the school parking lot and saw everyone heading inside. "Thank for the ride Cloud." I said. "You're welcome Tay. Anytime you need a ride just ask me ok?" said Cloud. "Ok I will." I said. Cloud looked and saw his group parking their cars and bikes in the parking lot. "Well I'll see you later." said Cloud. He left to be with his group. "Yeah see you later." I said sadly. I walked into the building and saw my two best friends Aerith Gainsborough and Selina Storm at our table in the cafeteria. "You're a little early today Taylor. How did you get here so quick?" Selina asked me. "I got a ride from Cloud." I said. "You got a ride from the most popular guy in school?!" said Selina. "Don't be so loud about it Selina." said Aerith.

"So… you two got your schedules yet?" I asked them. We took out our schedules seeing all of our classes for the year. "Well obviously we have choir together." I said. "Now this year we have science, math, and gym together!" said Selina happily. "But wait a minute, Tay how come you don't have history?" Aerith asked me. "History was a two year class for me and I want to be in more music classes. And as for gym class this year will be my final year of it." I said. "How did you make that happen?" Aerith asked. "My guidance counselor Mr. Rhapsodos made it happen. Once the first half of the semester ends I never have to go to gym class ever again." I said proudly. "You lucky girl." said Selina.

The three of us laughed happily and then we saw Cloud and his group walk into the cafeteria and I saw him and Tifa walking hand in hand and I clutched my right hand in jealousy. "Tay relax!" said Selina. I looked at her and Aerith and then finally calmed down. They've known about my feelings for Cloud for quite sometime (same with my parents) since they are the only ones I can trust with secrets. I got up from my seat and walked to my first class which was science. As I walked into the room I noticed that my science teacher is my hip-hop/breakdance teacher and he recognized me instantly. "Yas! My favorite dance student!" he said in his feminine voice. "Hi Mr. Carter! Is rehearsal still on for tonight?" I said. "Of course my little superstar!" said Mr. Carter. I've been in his hip-hop/breakdance classes for 12 years and I'm one of his best dancers there. I looked around the room and then saw Selina and Aerith walk in seeing me all giddy. "I love this class already." I said. "How come?" Selina asked me. I told them about Mr. Carter and they fully understood now. As we took our seats we looked and saw Cloud and two of his friends walk into the room and I realized that Cloud and I have this class together! "Hey music buddy!" said one of Cloud's friends. "Hey Reno!" I said happily as we gave each other a high five. "Since when you do music Reno?" said Cloud and Reno's best friend Zack Fair. "Music has always been a deep passion of mine ever since I was 7 years old and I want to be a music producer just like my uncle." said Reno. "Cool story bro." said Zack. "Thanks." said Reno.

I've known Zack and Reno for quite awhile now thanks to Cloud and the two of them always took care of me in school when Cloud wasn't there (years ago Cloud promised my Dad that he would take care of me in school making sure that I wouldn't get hurt). Cloud looked and saw an empty seat next to me and he decided to take it and he sat down next to me. "Hey bud." said Cloud. "Hey Spike." I said. "Alright students please take your seats." said Mr. Carter. We all sat down quietly. "My name is Mr. Carter and I'll be your science teacher for the year. As we know it's your first day of junior year so lets take today to get to know each other." said Mr. Carter. We all took the first class talking and knowing each other a little bit and then heard the bell ring and we went to our next classes.

My second class was english and my teacher was Mr. Tseng. I looked around the room and saw that Tifa was in the class with me. "You've gotta be frickin joking?" I said to myself. Tifa and I never got along since we were kids and the reason why is because she has been bullying me since I was eight years old. I still remember her beating me up in school almost everyday, coming home in bruises, bloodshed, and broken bones that made my family and friends worried for my safety in school. The teachers have known about this situation for awhile now and made sure that we stayed away from each other. "Students please take your seats." said Mr. Tseng. I took my seat and thank Gaia it was near the door while Tifa's was in the middle front of the room. "I'm Mr. Tseng, your english teacher for the year and I hope that this year will be successful for all of you." said Mr. Tseng. He looked at me and gave me a stress ball knowing of my situation.

After the hour was done the bell rang and I went to my third class which was music. My music class is kind of mix of a regular music class and band class and my teacher Mr. Cole makes it alot of fun! I walked into the room and saw Reno waiting for me with Cid Highwind, Legend Presley, Cissnei Ruby, and Yuffie Kisaragi. "Yes my crew is here!" said Reno happily. "So Taylor how was your last class?" Yuffie asked me. "I already know that english is going to be torture." I said. "Is it the teacher?" Cissnei asked. "No it's Tifa. She's in my english class." I said. The group stared at me all shocked. "That's not good." said Yuffie. "Did the teacher keep you and her separated?" Cid asked. "He did. Thank Gaia." I said. "Anybody else you know in that class too?" said Reno. I shook my head no. "That sucks." said Reno. "It does." I said. After that little talk we walked up to the drums, guitars, keyboards, and saxophones and played with them for the hour.

After hearing the bell again I walked to my next class which was math and saw Aerith and Selina as I walked in. "Hey Taylor, Reno texted us that Tifa is in your english class. Are you gonna be ok?" said Selina in concern. "As long as she's kept away from me I think I'll survive." I said. I looked at the board seeing the name of the teacher. "Mr. Wallace?" I asked Aerith and Selina. "Yep that's his name." said Aerith. After we sat down Mr. Wallace walked into the room and introduced himself. "Hello students my name is Mr. Wallace and I'll be your math teacher for the year." said Mr. Wallace. The one thing that I like about this class is that he plays alot of great music from his computer to help us concentrate.

The bell rang again and Aerith, Selina, and I went to lunch with Yuffie and Cissnei. The five of us sat down at our table and saw Zack, Reno, Cid, Tifa, and Cloud walk to their table talking and laughing. I looked around the room and saw Cloud's cousin Callie Strife walk up to with a big smile on her face. "Hey Speedy ready for training soon?" said Callie. "Yeah I am. Captain's gotta keep up before the season." I said. Callie and I play on the school's softball team and the two of us are the two popular players. After talking with her she left to be with the rest of the team after telling me to meet with them after lunch in a text message. Callie is a senior so is the whole team except for me the only junior on the team.

As we were eating Aerith and Selina saw Cloud walk up to me and ruffled my hair a little bit. I looked up at him with a little smile and he smiled back and sat next to me. "Everything ok?" Cloud asked me. "Yeah everything's ok." I said. "You like your classes so far?" said Cloud. "So far so good. How about you? You like your classes too?" I asked him. "They're ok but I'm happy that I have one class with you." said Cloud. "Yeah I'm happy about that too." I said. I watched him get up, wave bye, and wink his eye at me before he left. _"I wish you knew how I feel about you."_ I said sadly in my thoughts. I got up and left by myself. The four girls knew that I was a little upset. Aerith looked and saw Zack and Reno looking at her as they also saw me leave.

I walked outside to the baseball field and saw Callie and the team waiting for me. "There you are Speedy." said Callie. I looked at home plate remembering Cloud's big game last year watching him hit the winning grand slam to put his team in the championship game. As that memory faded away I walked to the bench and sat down, putting my head a little low. "Tay? What's wrong?" said Callie. I looked at her as she saw little tears form in my eyes. Before she said a word she heard her phone ring and she answered it. "Hello? Hey Cloud what's up?" she said. As she talked to him I grabbed my bag and left the field and went to the choir room. "Hello again Taylor." said Mr. Cole. "Hi Mr. Cole." I said. "You know that you skipped gym class right? You had your group looking for you for the past hour." said Mr. Cole. I looked at the door and saw Callie, Aerith, and Selina looking at me and they gave me a hug. Mr. Cole is also my choir teacher.

The final bell rang and I began walking home by myself. Without even noticing, my whole group watched me go wondering if I was ok. I walked into my house and saw my parents in the living room and they noticed that I looked tired, stressed, and a little sad. "How was your first day sweetie?" my Mom asked me. "It was ok I guess." I said. "Do you like some of your classes?" said my Dad. "Yeah. Some of them." I said. "Is Cloud in any of your classes?" said my Mom. "Yeah he's in my science class." I said. "Well that's good." said my Mom. "Yeah it is. Hey I'm gonna take a nap for awhile before I go to dance rehearsal." I said. "Ok sweetheart." said my Dad.

I walked to my room and took a nap for two hours, packed my dance gear, ate dinner, and then walked to the dance studio seeing Mr. Carter and my dance crew and we begun rehearsal which lasted for two and a half hours and I walked back home. As I walked to my house I saw Cloud and his parents eating dinner in their kitchen. Cloud's mother looked up and saw me outside and she waved at me. I waved back at her and then walked inside my house. I put my gear away, took a shower, changed into my PJs which were a plain blue t-shirt and grey baggy sweatpants, and I was ready to sleep. As I nearly drifted off to sleep I heard a knock on my patio door. I got up wondering if it was Selina or Yuffie pranking me again but then I saw it was Cloud. "Cloud? What are you doing here this late?" I asked him as I let him in.

"I heard you ran off after lunch so I went looking for you. Do you have any idea how you got me scared? I almost thought that someone kidnapped you." said Cloud. I looked down from him not wanting him to see me upset. "I'm sorry." I said sadly. I looked back into his blue eyes and he put me in his arms holding me tight. "It's ok. Just promise me that you'll never run off like that again." said Cloud. "I promise." I said. As he held me I did a little yawn and he knew that I was tired. "Try to get some sleep ok?" said Cloud. "I'll try." I said. He looked into my brown eyes, smiled at me, and then he kissed me on the cheek. "Goodnight Taylor." he said. "Goodnight Cloud." I said. Cloud left my room and went back to his house and I was surprised by the little kiss he gave me. I crawled back into bed and peacefully fell asleep wondering what this school year may bring.

 **Thank you for reading my first Final Fantasy VII fanfic! This story is an AU of the game with most of the cast being in high school as students, teachers, and principal. I do not own any characters except for Taylor, Selina, Callie, Mr. Carter, Mr. Cole, Taylor's parents, and a couple more that will be introduced soon. So in this chapter we get to see Taylor and the group go through their first day of high school once again and see Taylor's feelings for Cloud grow. Will Taylor and Cloud get together one day? We'll see…**

 **If you had read my Smash Bros. fanfic** _ **"Love at First Sight"**_ **when Cloud talked about his Taylor, well that was how I came up with this story.**

 **Next time, Chapter 2: Pain. One month of school has gone by pretty quick and Taylor and Tifa finally square off possibly one last time.**


	2. Chapter 2: Pain

**Chapter 2: Pain  
**

 _Taylor's P.O.V.  
_

Today is Monday October 8th and one month of school has gone by pretty quick. On Friday night, me and the group went to our school football game seeing Zack, Reno, and Cid play and win big against the Modeoheim Huskies (our school sports name is Mustangs) and the three of them broke a school record from 35 years ago. Zack is the quarterback of the team while Reno and Cid are his top wide receiver and tight end. Aerith and Selina were on the cheerleading team rooting for our team (and it was pretty cold that night too). I saw Yuffie and Cissnei in a huge blanket to keep each other warm. I saw Legend and Cloud sit together with Tifa talking. Legend looked and saw me walk away wondering where I was going. I walked to the parking lot seeing Reno's car with Zack's truck and Cid's car, looking around and saw no one in sight, climbed into the back of Zack's truck and stayed there for fifteen minutes looking up at the stars in the sky. That's pretty much I remember of Friday night. Now back to today.

I sat down in math class and saw on the board that my class was having a test today. I looked at his desk and saw packets with our names on it and I knew that everyone is not gonna have the same questions on our tests. Mr. Wallace always does his tests that way so that nobody cheats on their tests. "We have a test today!" said Selina. "Yeah, we've been told about this last week." I said. "I am so not prepared for this." said Selina. "Of course you didn't." said Aerith. "You forgot to put it as a reminder on your phone did you?" I asked Selina. "God dammit." said Selina. We looked next door seeing Reno, Zack, Cid, and Cloud in their history class bored out of their minds. "Why did their teacher leave this door open?" Aerith asked. "I don't know but now I know what I'm gonna do." I said. "What are you doing?" Selina asked. "You'll see." I said.

I opened my bag and took out an empty pie tin and filled with shaving cream. "You sneaky little." said Aerith. My plan was to get either Zack or Reno with the fake pie and run as fast as I could. Selina took out her phone ready to record the whole thing. We looked and saw Zack asleep while the other three were still bored and awake. "Go." said Selina. I snook into the room, behind Reno and got him. "Smack Cam!" I said and ran. Zack woke up and looked with Cid and Cloud wondering what just happened to Reno. "Lazarus!" Reno yelled and ran after me. The three boys saw Selina and Aerith laughing. I ran to Mr. Carter's room and hid in the lab. Reno ran to the room and then saw Selina and the group run up to him. "Please tell me this was your idea Selina." said Reno. "Nope. It was all Taylor's idea." said Selina. Reno looked at the guys and saw them laughing. As they were talking I snook back into my math class and saw Mr. Wallace and boys' history teacher, Mrs. Ruby looking at me. "So… your plan worked huh?" said Mr. Wallace. "Good job Taylor." said Mrs. Ruby. They were in the plan all along. "Thank you, thank you very much." I said happily. We looked and saw them return and they saw me after Reno cleaned off the shaving cream. Reno put me in a headlock and gave me a little nuggie as we both laughed. "Ok boys back to class." said Mrs. Ruby. "Yes Mrs. Ruby." the boys said in unison.

As they were heading back to their class, Cloud and I looked at each other and he ruffled my hair a little which made me smile and he smiled back. "Alright ladies back to your seats." said Mr. Wallace. "Yes Mr. Wallace" said Selina, Aerith, and I in unison. We sat down and Mr. Wallace gave us our tests and we begun our tests. I looked at my test knowing all the easy questions in a snap. When I saw my final question, I was pretty surprised. It was to sing a verse of the song King by Years+Years. I've been practicing this song for a good week and a half plus Mr. Wallace and Mrs. Ruby like hearing me sing. I turned and saw both Selina and Aerith were done their tests. "Ready Taylor?" Mr. Wallace asked me. "Ready." I said.

We looked and saw Mrs. Ruby walk into the room again after telling her students to keep taking notes and leaving the door slightly open. "She better not ask Taylor to prank me again." said Reno. "I heard that smartass." I said. We heard Cid, Zack, and Cloud laugh at Reno from my insult. "Shots fired." said Zack. Mrs. Ruby quietly shut the door. "You know what she's going to do?" said Mr. Wallace. "I believe I know what it is." said Mrs. Ruby happily. "Alright then, Taylor take it away." said Mr. Wallace. I looked and saw Aerith take out her phone to record me. _"I had to break myself to carry on. No love, no admission. Take this from me tonight. Oh, let's fight(x3), oh."_ I sang. "That was beautiful Taylor." said Mrs. Ruby. "Thank you Mrs. Ruby." I said happily. We looked and saw the four boys peeking through the door. "Aren't you boy supposed to be taking notes?" said Mrs. Ruby. They went back into their class and I saw Zack giving me two thumbs up for my singing.

"Mr. Wallace? May Selina, Aerith, and I please go to the bathroom?" I asked. "Yes you may." said Mr. Wallace. The three of us walked out of the room and walked to the bathroom. "Hey Lazarus?!" said a voice. We turned around and saw Tifa walk up to us. "What do you think you're doing on my turf?" said Tifa. "Since when was this your turf?" I said. "Since freshman year its been mine" said Tifa. "You've gotta be fucking kidding." I said. "You have ten seconds to leave or you're getting broken" said Tifa.

I put my bag down and stared at her. "Taylor let's just go." said Aerith. "We're not letting you get hurt again." said Selina. I walked up to the bathroom door glaring at Tifa. "That's it." said Tifa. She charged at me and we began fighting. "Taylor?!" Aerith and Selina yelled. We both kept punching each other but I saw Tifa barely hurt at all while I was a an injured mess and I didn't notice Selina was recording the fight. "How long have you had your phone out Selina?" Aerith asked. "For a couple minutes." she said as she recorded the fight. During the scuffle they saw a man with long silver hair watch the fight as well. Tifa pinned me to the lockers as I was covered in bloodshed. She had broken my left arm and right leg and saw my blood and bruises. I looked and she pulled out a pocket knife and she gave a scar on my left eye (thank Gaia that my eyes were closed!) and stabbing me at my shoulder and torso a few times. "Taylor?!" Aerith yelled. I looked at Tifa seeing her put the knife's blade at my throat as I coughed out blood. "Still the same weak kid after all these years huh? Any last words before you go?" said Tifa.

"Stop this madness right now!" said a voice. We all looked and saw him for the first time. "Principal Sephiroth!" said Selina. Tifa threw me to the ground and I groaned in pain. I looked and saw Principal Sephiroth looking at my injuries and seeing Tifa have no injuries whatsoever. "You two back to your class. You in my office. And you are going to the hospital." said Principal Sephiroth as he picked me up. I looked at Aerith and Selina seeing them worried for me. I gave them a little smile before being tooken to the hospital. "How are we going to tell him?" said Aerith. "Well we have evidence now. We'll show him at lunch and see how he reacts." said Selina.

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

I walked down to lunch with the guys after I got a text from Tifa that she's in the principal's office. I asked her why but she didn't respond. "Anything good for lunch today?" said Cid. "I have no clue." said Reno. "They got Hamburgers today? Yes!" said Cid. Zack and I laughed a little. "Hey Reno?" said Zack. "What?" said Reno. Zack picked up his food and almost threw in Reno's face and it scared him. "God dammit Zack! I swear you're turning into Taylor." said Reno. We laughed happily and then walked into the cafeteria.

As we were walking to our table, we saw Selina, Aerith, Cissnei, and Yuffie crying. We decided to walk over to them and sit with them. "You girls alright?" Cid asked them. They shook their heads no. I looked and saw Taylor's bag next to Aerith. "Where's Taylor?" I asked Aerith. We saw the girls look at each other and then look at me. "Show him the video." said Aerith. "What video?" I asked. Selina took out her phone and the four of us saw Tifa fighting someone. "Who's she fighting?" said Cid. We kept watching and then saw that she was fighting Taylor. Our jaws dropped in shock seeing Taylor getting hurt. _"Still the same weak kid after all these years huh? Any last words before you go?"_ said Tifa in the video. My eyes widened in shock hearing her say that to my best friend and watching her cough out blood and seeing a blade at her throat. Selina stopped the video. "That's why Tifa is in the principal's office." said Aerith.

I looked at the group still in shock of what happened. "Jesus Christ." said Reno. "Where's Taylor now?" said Zack in concern. "She's in the hospital having surgery now." said Selina. I grabbed Taylor's bag and walked out of the cafeteria as the group saw tears in my eyes. I walked outside to the football stadium and sat on the bleachers seeing no one in sight. I hugged her bag tightly and put my head on her bag while crying. As I cried, I had flashbacks of me and Taylor when we were little kids playing together, seeing her cute little smile, dancing with her, cuddling with her by the fire, and the little ride we had on my 16th birthday. I could hear her voice in the flashbacks all happy and warm. "Taylor." I said as I cried. I looked into her bag seeing her cellphone inside and I put it in my pocket.

I've had a crush on Taylor ever since I was twelve years old and it's because of her kind heart and loving personality. She was the first girl that made me feel special just for being me. She's the one person who makes me really happy whenever I had a bad day. That's the kind of person she is. Just a girl with a very kind heart, that's what I love about her. "Cloud?" said a voice. I thought it was Taylor calling my name. I looked up and saw Zack and the rest of the group sitting beside me. We all did a group hug and I saw the group cry too. About five minutes later we all walked back inside the school walking to Principal Sephiroth's office. "Hey Cloud, does this mean that you and Tifa are done?" Reno asked me. "Yeah I'm done with her forever. She crossed the line by hurting Taylor like that. Me and Tifa are done for good." I said. "Atta boy Cloud." said Zack.

As we made it to the office, we saw Tifa walk out with the principal and they saw us. "Hey baby." said Tifa. "Don't touch me." I said angrily. "What's wrong?" she asked. "It's you." I said. "What do you mean it's me?" said Tifa. "You know what you did to Taylor." I said. "You're gonna take her side? Why are you doing that?!" she yelled. "Because I love her!" I yelled. Everyone looked at us shocked and surprised. "It's over Tifa. I never want anything to do with you ever again." I said. Tifa left the office not saying a word. "Mr. Strife, do you and your friends here wish to go see Taylor at the hospital?" said Principal Sephiroth. "Yes we do." I said. "Very well, you and your friends here are dismissed today. Go see your friend. And don't worry about Tifa, she's been expelled from here and she'll be in jail for a long time." said Principal Sephiroth. "Thank you sir!" we said in unison. We grabbed our bags and ran to our cars and bikes and drove off to the hospital. _"Don't worry Taylor. I'm coming."_ I said in my thoughts.

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

I woke up in my hospital bed seeing my parents right next to me and I saw tears form in their eyes. "Mom, Dad please don't cry. You two know I've been through worse things than this. I'll be ok, I promise." I said. "Are you sure about that honey?" said my Mom. "Positive." I said. "You are just like your father being this brave and you are talking like him." said my Mom. "That's my girl." said my Dad. Of what I mean of been through worse things than this, I went through falling off Mt. Nibel during a family trip and tore my ACL in my left leg during a dance competition. "How did you guys hear about this?" I asked. "The school called us and they told us everything you remembered about the fight." said my Dad. "Is the school on my side or hers?" I asked. "They're on your side Taylor." said my Mom. I smiled happily from her response.

We turned around and saw the doctor walk in and she sat beside us. "Mr. and Mrs. Lazarus it's a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Dr. Adria." she said. "It's very nice to meet you Doctor. How serious are her injuries if I may ask." said my Dad. "When I first saw her injuries I thought she was in serious condition but as the surgery started we saw that her stab wounds were not as serious as we thought, not puncturing any organs in her body so the stab wounds will heal the fastest. Her left arm broke from her wrist to her elbow and it should heal completely in 6-8 weeks. Finally her right leg, the fibula bone is broken in three places and it should take 3-4 months to heal completely." said Dr. Adria. "What about this big scar on her face?" said my Mom. "We got it stitched up and it should take 10 days to heal and then the stitches come off." said Dr. Adria. She turned to the door and saw a group of teens standing by the door. "Looks like you have some guests Taylor." said Dr. Adria.

I looked at the door and saw Aerith, Selina, Yuffie, Cissnei, Reno, Cid, Zack, and Cloud walk into the room. "Hey guys." I said happily. "Hey there crazy girl." said Selina. "How are you doing?" Reno asked me. "Alot better than I thought. I guess that medicine is really working." I said. "Well that's good to know." said Reno. Selina and Yuffie laughed happily. I looked and saw Cloud talking with my parents and I began to blush and looked away shyly. As I was talking to everyone else, my parents and Cloud saw a nurse walk in with discharge papers and gave them to my Mom, signed them all pretty quick, gave them back to the nurse and saw the nurse leave. "What was that about?" Cloud asked my Mom. "Those were discharge papers. After someone finishes signing those papers they are allowed to leave the hospital and go home." said my Mom. Cloud smiled happily knowing now that I don't have to spend the night here.

My Dad walked up to me and told me about the discharge and that we all get to head home tonight and I smiled happily. "Need some help bud?" Cloud asked me. "Yeah. I would love some help." I said. "She doesn't need the wheelchair Cloud. You can carry her if you want." said my Dad. Cloud and I looked at each other all embarrassed for a minute and then he picked me up and then we all walked out of the hospital together. I watched the group head home for the night while I headed home with my parents and Cloud. I looked seeing my bag on Cloud's shoulder while his bag was in his bike. About five minutes later we made it back to my house. "Anything else I can do for you Mrs. Lazarus?" Cloud asked my Mom. "You can put Taylor in her room for now. I'll help her later." she said. "Ok." said Cloud.

We got to my room and Cloud put me down on my bed putting an extra pillow under my broken leg to keep it elevated. "They told you everything about what happened did they?" I asked him. "Who did?" Cloud asked me. "Who do you think?" I said with a smirk on my face. "Yeah they did. I never knew that Tifa was the girl that bullied you all these years. I'm so sorry Tay." said Cloud as he layed down beside me. "It's ok. You didn't know until now." I said. "After they showed me the video and seeing you get hurt like this I realized that I made the biggest mistake of my life of dating her." said Cloud. "They recorded the fight?!" I said surprised. "Yeah they didn't tell you?" said Cloud. I shook my head no. Cloud laughed a little and then he ruffled my hair again happily. He sat up beside me, wrapped his arm around my waist keeping me close to him. "So… are you and Tifa done for good?" I asked him shyly. "Yeah I'm done with her. I broke up with her before I came to see you." he said. "How sweet of you Cloudy." I said.

We both laughed and then went silent as we stared into each other's eyes. As I looked into his blue eyes, I can hear my inner thoughts telling me to kiss him but I knew that I wanted to wait a little while for him to get used to being single for awhile. I looked at him wondering what he would do and then he kissed my forehead and smiled. "You're too cute." said Cloud happily. "You're cute too Spike." I said happily. He smiled from my response. My Mom walked into the room seeing me wrapped in Cloud's arm and almost asleep. "I guess that she wants you to stay for the night. Will that be ok with you Cloud?" said my Mom. "Sure. I don't mind staying over." said Cloud. "No funny business up here you two understand?" said my Mom. My face turnt bright red in embarrassment. "Mom!" I said. "Don't worry we won't be doing anything I promise you that." said Cloud. "Ok I trust you. Goodnight you two." said my Mom. She left the room and I put my head down in embarrassment. "Aww is wittle Taylor all shy again?" said Cloud in a silly voice. "Shut up." I said shyly. We both laughed happily.

I cuddled up to him putting my head on his shoulder. "Oh here you left this in your bag." said Cloud. I saw him take out my cellphone from his pocket. "You didn't hack into my phone did you?" I asked him. "No. Why would I do that?" he asked me. "Zack did that to me last time and he locked my phone for two weeks." I said. "So that's why you didn't respond last time I texted you." he said. I nodded my head yes to his response. About a half hour later we both fell asleep. In my dream I was smiling happily knowing that I have my best friend beside me keeping me safe.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 2 of this series! So that fight was pretty scary for Taylor knowing that she could've died if the principal wasn't there to stop it. Sephiroth makes his debut in the series as the principal of the high school! I wonder how many students he can handle in his office almost everyday? I honest to God don't even want to know. And the song Taylor sang here, I do not own the rights to the song.  
**

 **We also saw that Taylor can be a little prankster in the group. She knows to be a good prankster is that timing is key to everything. Her pranks only go as far as the pie prank because she really doesn't want to hurt anybody at all. And we saw that Cloud has a crush on Taylor and how he really feels about her.**

 **Two new characters make their debuts, Mrs. Ruby and Dr. Adria! Mrs. Ruby is a history teacher at the high school and is also Cissnei's mother. Dr. Adria is a doctor at Nibelheim hospital and is one of the best doctors there. If you want to know more about all the characters, I'm thinking about making a tumblr and putting their bios there and also ask them questions if you like.**

 **Next time, Chapter 3: Party at Reno's. Reno has a party at his house and invites the group over and they play a little truth or dare! What could possibly go wrong?**


	3. Chapter 3: Party at Reno's

**Chapter 3: Party at Reno's**

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

It's been one week since the fight and the break up with Tifa and I have been feeling better about being single now. Throughout this week I kept visiting Taylor to see how she was doing and help take care of her with Aerith and Selina knowing that Taylor hasn't been in school for the whole week. Today she finally comes back to school and we hope that she'll make it through the day. "Hey look who's back!" said Zack happily as he saw me and Taylor sit down in our class. "Hey guys man it feels good to be back!" said Taylor. "You have no idea how much we missed you being here." said Zack. "How much did you guys miss me?" Taylor asked. Reno, Selina, Aerith, Zack, and I got up from our seats and gave Taylor a group hug to show her how much we missed her. "I missed you guys too." said Taylor happily. "Ok students please take your seats." said Mr. Carter.

We sat back down in our seats quietly. Mr. Carter walked up to us and saw Taylor back in class. "Taylor! How are you feeling?" he asked her. "Pretty good just hate being on pain medication." said Taylor. "Do you find that this was worse than tearing your ACL six years ago in the big competition?" said Mr. Carter. "Actually I think that tearing my ACL was worse than the pain I'm in right now." she said. Zack and I looked at each other surprised. "She tore her ACL? How did she do that?" Zack asked me. "It was six years ago, she was in a big dance competition and during her team's performance she collapsed and found out she tore her ACL in her left leg. It was not a pretty sight." I said. "You were there?" said Zack. I nodded my head yes to his question. "Damn dude." said Zack. "Yeah it was rough and scary to see her fall like that but she came back and grew stronger ever since." I said. We looked and saw Taylor pick up her crutches and walk up to the teacher's desk and sit in his seat.

As we were given a study sheet on the periodic table for a quiz tomorrow, Reno poked me and Zack's shoulders to get our attention and we looked at him. "What's up?" said Zack. "You guys wanna hang out at my house after school?" Reno asked us. "Sure." I said. "Think we should bring the girls too?" said Reno. "Depends on who." said Zack. "We could bring over Selina, Aerith, Cissnei, and Taylor." said Reno. The three of us looked at the three girls seeing them talking to each other smiling and laughing. "Fine with me. How about you Cloud?" Zack asked me. "As long as I can get Taylor home on time, yeah its fine by me." I said. "Sweet! This party is gonna be good!" said Reno. "Party?" we asked him at the same time. "Well not technically a party, but the four of us with the four girls hanging out playing some good music and playing a little game with them." said Reno. "What game?" I asked him. "I'll tell you at the"party" ok?" said Reno. We turned around seeing Aerith and Selina taking Taylor to her next class. The bell rang and I walked to my math class and I saw my cousin Callie walk by. We waved at each other as she walked to her english class.

I sat down at my seat and texted Taylor asking her to come hang out with me Reno's house and she texted back yes to hang out with me. When she texted me back I felt butterflies in my stomach and I smiled happily just to see her texting me again. I looked around the room seeing a few girls staring at me but I just looked away from them. Once the school heard I broke up with Tifa last week alot of girls kept looking at me and I heard them talk rumors of the break up which weren't true at all. After an hour had passed I walked out to the cafeteria seeing Callie and Taylor there talking to each other. I walked up to them and saw that Taylor was tired. "Hey sleepyhead you ok?" I asked her. "Yeah I'm ok just a little sleepy." said Taylor. "I asked her if she wanted to go to the nurse's office to take a nap but she kept refusing." said Callie as she patted Taylor's back. "Your medicine's making you sleepy isn't it?" I asked. Taylor nodded her head yes. "Alright let's get you to the nurse's office." I said. The three of us walked into the nurse's office, told them what was going on, and found a spot for Taylor to take a little nap.

"I'll just send an e-mail to your teachers to let them know where you are and let them know what's going on ok?" said a nurse. "Ok thank you." said Callie. "You're welcome." said the head nurse. After hearing them leave the room, Callie looked at me concerned. "Hey Cloud?" she asked me. "Yeah?" I said. "How did you and Tifa really break up?" Callie asked me. "When I saw a video of her nearly killing Taylor, I was mad and upset knowing that she hurt my best friend and I broke up with her." I said. We looked at Taylor seeing her sound asleep. "I never trusted Tifa with you from the very beginning." said Callie. "How come?" I asked. "She was just nothing but trouble. She nearly destroyed your friendships with your group, especially with her." said Callie as she looked at Taylor. "I still can't believe that this happened to her. She is one of the nicest girls I've ever met and a bad thing like this happens to her even though she did nothing wrong at all. Poor Taylor why do you keep fighting this?" said Callie. I looked at her and saw tears in her eyes and I gave her a hug. "I know how you feel. Taylor's one of the bravest girls that I've ever met. I still get amazed everytime she stands back up and moves on from what beats her down. She just doesn't quit, she's a fighter." I said.

After what I said to Callie, we saw Taylor wake up after an hour and a half nap. "Hey sunshine." said Callie. "Hey." said Taylor. "Feeling a little better?" I asked her. "Yeah a little better." she said. "Come on it's almost lunchtime, hopefully you'll have something to eat." said Callie. "Hopefully." said Taylor. Callie left the room and it was just me and Taylor alone. "Tay?" I said. "Hm?" she said. "You know you're my best friend right?" I asked her. "And you're my best friend too." she said. "And you know that nothing will break it apart." I said. "Uh huh." said Taylor. I took her right hand and held it tight and looked at her seeing her eyes locked onto mine. "Taylor, I-" I said. "Hey guys!" said a voice. We both jumped in shock and saw Selina at the door. "Come on let's go!" she said. We looked at each other as we blushed shyly and we left for lunch.

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

As I sat down at our table in the cafeteria, I kept wondering what Cloud was trying to say to me back at the nurse's office. _"Taylor, I- what? What was it you wanted to tell me?"_ I said in my thoughts. "Something bugging you Tay?" said Selina. "No nothing's bugging me." I said. "Are you sure?" said Selina. "I'm sure." I said. As we were waiting for the guys we heard Aerith laugh a little while she was texting someone. "Who are texting?" Selina asked her. Aerith looked up and saw us with confused looks on our faces. "It's Zack. Why do you want to know that?" said Aerith. "Do you like him?" said Selina with a smirk on her face. Aerith blushed in shock. "You do like him! This is so cute! Wait 'til I tell the others about this!" said Selina. The guys walked in hearing her squeal with joy. I looked into her bag seeing a BLT sandwich, took it out from the plastic bag, and put it in Selina's mouth as she opened it to keep her quiet. The whole group looked at me wondering what just happened. "You're welcome." I said to Aerith. "Thanks Taylor." said Aerith happily.

Three hours had passed and school was done for the day. Cissnei, Selina, Aerith, and I walked out together and we saw Cid, Reno, Zack, and Cloud waiting for us in the parking lot. "Come on ladies hurry up!" Reno yelled. "Oh calm your tits Reno!" said Selina as we walked up to them. "Dammit Selina I was going to say that." I said. "Great minds think alike." said Selina. "Oh dear God if that ever happened all hell will break loose." I said. After the little chat, we all made it to Reno's house and walked down to his basement. "So anybody want anything to drink?" Reno asked us. "I'll have some water." I said. "I'll take some ginger ale." said Aerith. "Cherry soda please." said Selina. "Water please." said Cissnei. "Red Bull." said Zack. "I'll have what Zack's having." said Cid. "PowerAde." said Cloud. Reno gave us our drinks and we talked about how our days went for about two hours. I looked at Reno and saw him wink at the guys and I wanted to know what was going on. "Alright everybody sit down on the floor in a circle." said Reno. "Ok?" I said in a confused tone. We all sat in a circle on the floor. "Uh Reno why are we doing this?" Selina asked him. "I want to play a little game with you guys." said Reno. "And that game would be?" I asked. "Truth or Dare." said Reno.

My face went bright red, same with Selina, Aerith, and Cissnei and we put our heads low shyly. "Somebody hit me with a brick." said Selina quietly. "Same here." I said to her quietly. "Don't worry girls we're not going to make you crazy dares I promise you." said Reno. "You promise?" said Selina. "Promise." said Reno. Aerith, Cissnei, and I looked at Selina seeing her make a dirty smirk on her face and we got scared knowing of what she might do. "Alright let's play!" said Selina happily. "Ok then Selina why don't you start?" said Reno. Aerith and I crossed our fingers hoping she didn't pick us first. "Oh Taylor?" said Selina. _"God dammit why me?!"_ I said in my thoughts. "What?" I said. "Truth or Dare?" Selina asked me. "Truth." I said. "Is there something you're hiding from us?" she asked me.

"No." I said. "Ok just making sure." said Selina. "Alright Taylor your turn." said Cid. I looked at Selina with a dirty smirk on my face and I saw Cissnei and Aerith laughing. "Selina, Truth or Dare?" I said. "Dare." she said nervously. "I dare you to tell us about you being the one who thought that Zack and Cloud were dating." I said. "That was you?!" said Zack and Cloud surprised. "Yeah it was me. Remember that day last year when you two were holding hands walking to your gym class?" said Selina. Cloud and Zack blushed heavily all embarrassed. "So I was the one who started that rumor last year and really thought that you two were actually together." said Selina. I looked and saw Reno and Cid laughing their heads off. "To be honest you two would look really cute together." said Aerith. Cloud and Zack put their heads low hiding their faces blushing. "I pick who's next right?" I asked. "Yep." said Selina. "Yo Reno!" I said.

"Yo!" said Reno. "Your turn." I said. "Ok let's see here, Cissnei Truth or Dare?" said Reno. "I'll go with Truth." said Cissnei. "Who's your favorite person in this room?" said Reno. "It would have to be Cid." said Cissnei. "Alright!" said Cid happily. "Ok Aerith Truth or Dare?" said Cissnei. "Truth." said Aerith. "Who taught your two parrots to curse?" said Cissnei. Aerith pointed at me instantly. "Don't shoot the messenger." I said. "Well it was your fault since they only listen to you." said Aerith. "Sorry." I said. Aerith looked at Zack as he and Cloud put their heads back up.

 _Zack's P.O.V._

"Hey Zack, Truth or Dare?" said Aerith. "Uh… Truth?" I said nervously. "Did you used to have a crush on Taylor?" said Aerith. "You what?!" said Cloud. "Yeah I used to about three years ago but now my eyes are set on someone else." I said. "What did you like about her?" said Cid. "Her eyes, her smile, and I thought she was cute." I said. "You really thought I was cute?" Taylor asked me. I nodded my head yes. "Aww that's sweet." said Taylor happily. "You know I love you in a sibling way." I said. "I know." said Taylor. We smiled at each other happily. Cloud gave out a little growl and I looked at him concerned. "Cloud it was three years ago. I care about Taylor like a sister. You know that I like someone else." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and finally smiled. "Ok I believe you." said Cloud. "We're cool now?" I asked him. "Yeah we're cool." said Cloud. I put him in a headlock and gave him a little nuggie.

"Zack your turn to pick." said Reno. "Hey Cloud, Truth or Dare?" I asked him. "Truth." said Cloud. "Are you in love with someone right now?" I asked him. His face turned pink from my question. "Cloud?" said Selina. Aerith and I looked at Taylor seeing her on her phone texting and we looked back at Cloud. "Who do really like dude?" I asked him. He turned to Taylor and pointed at her. "You serious?" I said. Cloud nodded his head yes. "Aww Chocobo-head!" I said. "Shut up man!" he said nervously. "Your turn." I said to him. "Cid, Truth or Dare?" said Cloud. "Dare." said Cid. "I dare you to tell us who you have a crush on." said Cloud. "It's Cissnei." said Cid. We all looked at Cissnei seeing her surprised after what Cid just said. "Are you serious?" said Cissnei. "Yes I am. I've had a crush on you for the past year." said Cid. They both blushed at each other and smiled happily. "Cid your turn to pick." said Selina. "Hey Lazarus!" said Cid.

Taylor looked at Cid and we all saw her shift a little in pain. "You ok buddy?" Reno asked in concern. She shook her head no. "Do you want to lay down for a bit?" said Cid. "No it's ok." she said. "When's the last time you took your medicine?" said Selina. "Before I went to bed last night. I only took a couple Tylenol this morning." said Taylor. "I have a couple more of that if you need it." said Selina. "That would be great." said Taylor. "Here you go." she said. "Thanks girl." said Taylor. "You're welcome." said Selina.

Taylor took the Tylenol and stayed by me and Cloud. "Hey Selina?" said Taylor. "Yeah?" said Selina. "Remember when you asked me if I was hiding something from you guys?" she said. "Yeah why?" Selina asked Taylor. "Well, the truth is I've been refusing to take my medication." said Taylor. "Tay! Why?" said Selina. "It's the exact same medication that my cousin Adam overdosed on and he died from it." said Taylor. We all looked at her shocked and surprised. "Are you actually serious?" I asked her. Taylor nodded her head yes. Her cousin Adam was one of the most popular people in Nibelheim because of his charm and a Midgar University football player back when we were 10 years old. Taylor looked up to him as an older brother as he was always there for her and he was her role model when he was alive. He died from an overdose last year and it left her and her family devastated. We remember going to the funeral and saw her all upset. He was one of the nicest guys in Nibelheim you would ever meet.

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

I looked at Taylor and saw tears form in her eyes. "Come here bud." I said. I held her in my arms as she cried on my shoulder. "I miss him so much." she said. "I miss him too." I said. "Hey Cloud, do you want to take her home now?" Reno asked me. I looked down at Taylor as she looked up at me and our eyes met again. "Do you want me to take you home?" I asked her. She wiped off her tears and calmed down. "Yeah." said Taylor. "Ok let's get our stuff and go." I said. We got our bags, said bye to the group, got on my bike, and rode off to Taylor's house. Once we walked inside we saw both our parents looking at us. "Everything ok you two?" my Dad asked us. "Yes everything's ok." I said. Taylor's parents walked up to her seeing that she was a little upset. "What's the matter Taylor?" her mother asked. We told them about Adam and they understood. "We miss him too sweetie, we miss him too." said Taylor's Mom.

I still remember seeing him the day before he died. He was visiting Taylor and her parents as he was heading home from work at the construction building. My Dad and I visited them seeing Adam all happy to get out of work for the day. His green eyes lit up when he saw me and Taylor together hanging out in her backyard. We saw him walk up to us with a smile on his face. To him I was the only guy he trusted to be with Taylor knowing how protective Adam was of her. _"Hey Cloud can I talk to you for a few minutes?"_ he said. _"Sure what's up?"_ I asked him. _"How've you been man? Doing well in school?"_ said Adam. _"Yeah I've been good. School's going well too."_ I said. _"Got a girlfriend?"_ he said. _"Yeah I got a girlfriend, this is her."_ I said. He really didn't approve of Tifa (and I don't blame him). We looked up and saw Taylor wearing his high school varsity jacket, his signature green bandana, and his high school snapback hat talking with my Dad and her parents as her father was cooking outside. He looked at me seeing me smile at Taylor. _"You really like her don't you Spike?"_ said Adam. I looked up at him and he saw my face turn red.

I nodded my head yes to his question. He smiled happily to my answer. _"Don't worry man, you have my approval of dating my cousin when that happens one day."_ said Adam. _"Th-thanks Adam."_ I said shyly. _"You're the only friend of hers that makes her truly happy. Everytime I see you with her, she's always smiling like she is now. I've never seen her this happy around my family, but with you she's smiling and laughing all day long you know."_ said Adam. _"Yeah I get what you're saying. She makes me really happy too. Everytime I see Taylor smile I feel happier than I ever would."_ I said. _"Do you love her?"_ Adam asked me. _"I love Taylor with all my heart. She means everything to me, but I don't know how to say that to her."_ I said. _"Well let your feelings for her grow a little bit more and one day you can finally tell her how you feel. I'm pretty sure she might do the same for you."_ said Adam. _"Y-you really think so?"_ I asked him shyly. He nodded his head yes.

" _Come on boys, time to eat!"_ my Dad said happily. We walked inside and ate dinner for an hour. After that my Dad and I went home and Adam left to go back home as well. The next day I woke up, walked to my kitchen and saw my Dad all shocked and upset. _"Dad! Are you alright?"_ I asked him. _"I can't believe it."_ he said. _"Can't believe what Dad? What happened?"_ I asked. _"Taylor's father just called me and he told me that Adam just passed away."_ said my Dad. My eyes widened in shock. _"How did this happen?! He was just fine yesterday, what happened to him?"_ I said. _"It was a drug overdose."_ he said. I looked out the window and saw Taylor and her parents outside all devastated. We walked outside and stayed with them for the day. It was one of the saddest days of our lives.

After our parents talked with us, I walked home with my parents after saying goodnight to Taylor and her parents, walked up to my room, finished my homework, and finally fell asleep for the night. During the middle of the night, I woke up to my parents arguing with each other about something and their fighting woke up my Dad's parent's and the argument probably lasted for about an hour. After it ended I went back to sleep still curious about the fight downstairs but I'll ask them another time.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 3 of the series! So ever since that fight Taylor went through, the whole group has pretty much moved on from it and trying to get back to their normal lives, especially Taylor and Cloud. Seeing now that he is single, he's been noticing alot of girls trying to ask him out but he just ignores it.**

 **The "party" at Reno's was ok but I think it could've gotten better, but maybe next time it will be better. A new character has appeared! Taylor's cousin Adam! Adam is from her father's side of her family and he was one of the popular people in Nibelheim. Adam was the eldest child of Zeus' brother Marx and was a huge role model to Taylor. He was 12 years older than her. He died on October 10** **th** **from his drug overdose and it left her and her family devastated for a few months. Adam was the first one to know of Cloud's crush on Taylor.**

 **Next time, Chapter 4: Confession. It's Halloween at NHS and it will be the night that the group will never forget!**


	4. Chapter 4: Confession

**Chapter 4: Confession**

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

Today is Wednesday October 31st and it is Halloween! When I was little I used to love dressing up in costumes and go trick-or-treating with my friends, but after all these years I stopped doing all that but I still love Halloween nonetheless. I walked into school seeing nearly everyone dressed up and I saw some people in costumes that were really inappropriate and I kept questioning why in my head. I looked into the cafeteria and saw my group talking and laughing together in their costumes. I knew that they were waiting for me to see if I dressed up or not. I walked away from the cafeteria and walked up to Mr. Carter's room and saw him there with his 4 year old nephew Blake. "Hi guys!" I said happily. "Hello Taylor!" said Mr. Carter happily. Blake looked and saw me and gave me a big hug. "What're you dressed up as little man?" I asked him. "I'm a pirate who steals candy!" said Blake happily. "You're a cute little pirate." I said happily.

"How come you didn't dress up Taylor?" Blake asked me. "Well if my arm and leg weren't broken I would've dressed up just for you my little buddy." I said. "What did you want to be for Halloween?" said Blake. "I wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer." I said. "You like Pokémon Taylor?" said Mr. Carter. "I love Pokémon! I play the games all the time." I said. "Hey Blake, looks like someone likes Pokémon just like you." said Mr. Carter happily. Blake and I smiled at each other. "Hey Taylor, you're not on crutches anymore?" said Mr. Carter. "Oh yeah, my wounds are healing faster and better than they expected. So now I'm in a walking boot for now and I can fully move my left arm again, so by next week I should be fully healed!" I said. "That's fantastic news! Hopefully soon you'll be back on the dance floor again!" said Mr. Carter happily. "I hope so too." I said. "Alrighty then Blake let's get to your class. Taylor can you watch the room until I get back?" Mr. Carter asked me. "Sure." I said. "Bye Taylor." said Blake. "Bye my little candy pirate." I said.

After they left, I sat down at my desk knowing that I got ten minutes to relax before class begins. I opened up my bag and took out a sketch book and decided to draw for a few minutes. I also took out my phone and headphones to listen to music to help me concentrate. Drawing is one of my ways to relieve stress and it helps me alot. "Taylor?" said a voice. I looked up for a few seconds and saw no one in the room and I looked back down and began drawing again. "Hi Taylor." said the voice again. I felt someone pinch my arm and massage my shoulders. I looked to my left and saw Aerith and Selina look at me smiling and waved at me. I smiled a little bit and waved at them and then I saw two hands on my shoulders, I looked up and saw it was Cloud massaging my shoulders. I took off my headphones and rubbed my eyes a little bit and looked at my group. "How long were you guys in here?" I asked. "Five minutes." said Reno. I stared at them like a confused puppy wondering how they got here quicker than usual. "Looks like you got some competition there Zack." said Reno. "For what?" Zack asked him. "She can do the puppy face better than you." said Reno. Zack's eyes widened in shock. "No way! Everyone knows that I can do the puppy face better than anyone!" Zack yelled. "Yeah sure." said Reno.

Zack and Reno growled at each other and we laughed a little bit. "Come on you two, save it for our candy exchange tonight." said Selina. They stopped growling and instantly grew smiles on their faces. Every Halloween my group does a candy exchange. We basically just trade candy until everyone gets their favorite candies. "So… what are you guys supposed to be?" I asked them. "I'm a werewolf." said Zack. "I'm a vampire." said Reno. "Do you sparkle?" I said with a smirk on my face. Selina, Aerith, Zack, and Cloud laughed as they saw Reno's face looking confused. "Since when do vampires sparkle?" he asked me. "Ever since Twilight was a thing." I said. "That was good." said Selina. "Yeah, says the girl who tried to force me to watch the stupid films of the damn book." I said. "I thought you would like it." she said. "Hell no." I said. "Ok back to the costumes." said Zack. "I'm a queen." said Selina. "I'm Harley Quinn." said Aerith. "Dammit I should've been Joker." said Zack. "And I'm Green Arrow." said Cloud. "From the show?" Selina asked him. "Yep I am." said Cloud. "Nice!" said Selina. "Thanks!" said Cloud happily.

I smiled at the group happily. As they talked to each other, I looked back at my sketch book and found my hidden folder inside. I took it out very quietly, opened it up and saw my secret letter I started writing a couple weeks ago. This letter is my only chance to tell Cloud how I really feel about him. After a quick look at it, I closed the folder and sketch book and put it back in my bag hoping that no one noticed. Mr. Carter walked back into the room and class had begun. As we were taking notes I noticed that Reno was acting a little different. _"What is going on inside that head of his?"_ I said in my thoughts. "You ok?" Aerith asked me. "Yeah I'm fine. Hey, have you noticed that Reno has been acting different these past two days?" I asked her. "Yeah I have noticed that actually." she said. We turned and saw Selina walk up to Mr. Carter asking him a question and we looked at Reno looking at her with a smile, eyes half closed, and blushing a little. We looked back at each other surprised. "He likes her!" I whispered. "When did this happen?" Aerith whispered. "I have no clue but now I really want to know." I whispered.

Selina walked back to her desk and she didn't know what just happened. As class nearly ended, we heard a knock on the door. We looked and saw Callie walk in and I got up, grabbed my bag, and left with her. "She can walk again!" Selina said happily. As Callie and I walked through the hall we saw a group of freshmen and a group of sophomores about to start a dance off. "This I gotta see." I said. I love watching dance offs from time to time just to see some good dance moves. Callie and I took out our phones to record the dance off. Both groups put on a show with their flips, spins, drop kicks, and playing really good music. After five minutes the bell rang and the dance off ended. I was all hyped up from it. "Holy shit that was sick!" I said. "Wait until you do those at the battle of the classes in a few months." said Callie. "Aw hell yeah I'll do those moves." I said happily. I walked into my english class as the bell rang and had to do a test which was pretty boring but it had to be done sooner or later.

After I finished my test I was allowed to leave so everyone else could finish. I walked down to the guidance office and hung out there for a bit. I looked around the room and I saw my guidance counselor Mr. Rhapsodos with my gym teacher Mr. Hewley and Principal Sephiroth talking to each other in his office. They looked out his door and saw me talking with the head of the guidance department. "Excuse me but may I borrow this student for a few minutes?" said Mr. Rhapsodos. "Yes you may." said the head of the guidance department. We walked into his office and I saw posters of LOVELESS on the walls knowing that he is obsessed with the story. "Hello Taylor." he said. "Hello Mr. Rhapsodos." I said. "How are you doing today?" he asked. "I'm doing well today, how about you?" I asked. "I'm doing well today as well. How are your injuries there?" said Mr. Rhapsodos. "They are healing very well and I'm progressing really well too. The doctor said because of the injuries healing faster than she thought, I could be fully healed by tomorrow!" I said happily. "That's great to hear." said Mr. Hewley. "Is anyone giving you problems in any of your classes Taylor?" Principal Sephiroth asked me. "Nope, no problems whatsoever." I said. "That's good news." he said. I nodded my head to his response. After our little chat, I left for music and saw Cid and Cissnei holding hands while walking to class. They got together four days after the "party" at Reno's.

"Hey lovebirds." said Reno. "Oh God a sparkly vampire." said Cid. "I hate you." said Reno sarcastically. "Hate you too." said Cid sarcastically. I walked in and sat down. "She walks!" said Cid happily. "Yep no more crutches!" I said happily. "How about your arm?" Cissnei asked me. I took it out of its cast and layed it on my desk. "It looks good." said Reno. "That's a nasty scar there though." said Cid. I moved my arm around seeing the scar on it. "Hey! Since when you can fully move your arm again?" said Reno. "Since Sunday why?" I asked. "I thought it would take three more weeks to fully heal." said Reno. "Well when I had the surgery I had the best surgeon in Midgar there in the surgery room and his procedure made my wounds heal faster than they expected. Apparently they call him the miracle doctor for things like that." I said. "Was he hot?" said Yuffie as she walked in. I nodded my head yes to her question. "You lucky bastard." she said. "Do you remember his name?" Cissnei asked me. "I don't actually." I said. We looked and saw Cid texting someone. "Who are you texting?" said Cissnei. "The rest of our group. I'm telling them about Taylor's wounds are fully healed now." said Cid. "What are they saying?" Reno asked. "They're all really happy about it. Especially Cloud." said Cid.

My face blushed pink after I heard Cid say Cloud's name and my heart began racing for a few seconds. "Taylor? You ok?" Cid asked me. "Y-yeah I'm ok." I said. After that class ended, Reno, Cid, and I walked to our next classes. I sat down at my desk in math class seeing the four guys next door taking a test. I took out my phone and headphones again to listen to music for the hour. I also took out a spare notebook just to draw too.

 _Selina's P.O.V._

I looked around the room and I saw Taylor drawing and listening to music. Her eyes were slightly closed and her left foot was tapping quietly on the floor. I smiled at her but she didn't notice (she was in her zone). Aerith looked at her too seeing her doing that and she smiled too. "She's in her little world now isn't she?" Aerith asked me. "It sure looks like it." I said. We looked next door seeing the boys look at us and they waved at us. We waved back happily seeing them smile. They looked and saw Taylor snapping her fingers, tapping the desk with a pencil, and showing a little smile while her eyes were closed. I heard my phone vibrate in my bag, took it out, and saw a text from Reno. _"She's in the zone huh?"_ he texted me. _"Yeah she is but hey at least she's not getting into trouble right now."_ I texted him. _"That's true."_ he texted me back. I looked back at her seeing her eyes open and looking at the clock. She gave out a sigh after seeing that we have fifteen minutes left of class.

I looked at one of her drawings and saw a sketch of her, me, Aerith, Cissnei, Yuffie, and the guys sitting down together like they're in a group photo and another sketch showing all of our faces doing different expressions and I gotta say, she made us all look really cool and cute at the same time. I took quick pictures of the drawings and sent them to Aerith and the guys to see what they think. _"God damn she's talented. We look so good!"_ Zack texted me. _"Ikr! I love the way she did our expressions too! Especially her's and Cloud's."_ I texted back. _"Yeah we look really cool!"_ Cloud texted me. I looked and saw another few pages of drawings which were wolves, hawks, foxes, and alot of Pokémon. I looked again and saw a drawing of her with a full Pokémon team. I took a picture of the Pokémon sketches and sent it to the group. We all like Pokémon and play the games and cards from time to time. _"Damn those are way too good!"_ Reno texted me. _"I'm scared to battle her now."_ Cid texted me. _"You know how competitive she is guys."_ I texted. Aerith and I looked at Taylor as she looked at us confused of what just happened. She packed up her stuff and left on her own. "Is she alright?" I asked Aerith. "I don't know come on." she said. We packed up our stuff and followed her.

As we walked out of the room, we saw the guys follow us too. We walked all the way to the baseball field and saw Taylor with her softball team seeing them play against each other for fun. When we saw her she had her walking boot off and her cast off her arm! She stood on third base ready to run. Once we saw someone hit the ball, Taylor ran and slid to home plate. "Safe!" one of her teammates yelled. "Oh yeah! Speedy's back baby! Whoo!" Taylor yelled happily. "She's back!" Callie yelled happily as she ran up to Taylor and hugged her. "Good job ladies." said a voice. They turned around and saw Mr. Hewley walk up to them and talk to them. We decided to sit on the grass to watch them play until our next class. As we watched Taylor play, I noticed Reno looking at me a little differently. I looked at him and he quickly looked away from me while blushing. _"What is going on with you Reno?"_ I said in my thoughts.

The bell rang and I walked to gym class with Taylor, Aerith, and Zack and we played badminton against each other. It was me and Taylor against Zack and Aerith. Zack and Taylor were competitive against each other throughout the whole game and it was fun to watch especially when they do little dance offs against each other when they score. The bell rang again and Aerith, Taylor, and I walked to choir and practiced for an hour. We practiced songs for our Christmas concert coming up on December 18th. After the final bell rang for the day we all went back home to prepare for our candy exchange at Taylor's house tonight.

 _Reno's P.O.V_

About five hours had passed since school ended for the day. I finished my homework pretty quick which is something I never do, ate dinner, grabbed my candy stash and my car keys, walked out the door, and drove to Taylor's house. As I walked up to the door I saw Cloud and Zack walk up. "Hey guys." I said. "Hey Reno." said Zack. I knocked on the door and saw Cid as he opened the door. "Dude how did you get here early?" I asked him. "I came with Cissnei and Yuffie. Selina and Aerith got here an hour ago." said Cid. We walked in, said hi to Taylor's parents, and walked downstairs to her basement. Her basement is one of the coolest basements that I've ever seen. She has a billiards table, an air hockey table, a poker table, and very comfortable couches. She's also got a 65 inch HDTV down here. I looked and saw Selina talking with the girls and I began to blush and felt my heart race a little bit. "You ok Reno?" Cloud asked me. "Uh y-yeah I'm ok." I said. The girls looked and saw us. "Ok everyone's here!" said Yuffie. "Wait a minute, where's Taylor?" Zack asked. "Oh my God, Taylor get down here!" Selina yelled. "Don't yell at me! You're not my Mom! I'll be down in a minute." Taylor yelled.

Me and the guys couldn't help but laugh for a few seconds. We grabbed our candy stashes and sat down on the floor leaning back to the couches. We heard the door open and Taylor walked down with a huge bag. When she put it down we all saw that she was dressed up for the first time in years. "Finally!" Selina yelled. "She finally has a costume!" said Cissnei happily. "About time Lazarus." said Cid. "Thanks." said Taylor happily. "Don't look at her in the eyes! Instant Pokémon battles will happen." I said. "Oh hush you sparkle boy." she said. Zack and Cloud laughed. "Are you Red from the games?" Selina asked her. "Yep." said Taylor happily. "Damn girl you look good!" said Selina. "Thanks!" said Taylor. "Alright! Let's get this party started!" said Zack happily.

We grabbed our bags and poured out the candies little at a time so that no ones piles get mixed up. "Ok before we start, I got us all a little something." said Taylor. "If it's a candy necklace I will love you for the rest of my life." said Aerith. Taylor pulled out nine candy necklaces and gave them to all of us. "I love you." said Aerith. "Love you too." said Taylor. We put on our candy necklaces and then Taylor and I saw Yuffie and Selina make dirty smirks on their faces as they looked at all of us. "What's with the faces you two?" Aerith asked them nervously. Taylor and I jumped behind the couch all scared of what they would do. We poked our heads out to see what was going on. "Come on you two, we won't bite." said Yuffie. We got back to the group slowly all nervous. "Ok who here has pop rocks?" Selina asked us. "I do." said Taylor. "I'll trade you my cookies 'n crème bars for five bags of pop rocks." said Selina. "Done deal." said Taylor. They traded their items happily.

"My turn! Ok Aerith I'll trade you my Kit Kats for your Airheads." said Yuffie. "Deal." said Aerith. The guys and I groaned in agony knowing how much we wanted the Airheads. "They desperately wanted them." said Selina. I looked at Selina seeing her green eyes shine brighter than starlight in my mind, felt butterflies in my stomach and lungs, my heart race faster than a racecar, and felt my face blush slowly. As everyone was still trading candy, I put my head a little low shyly wanting no one to notice my face. "Reno?" said Selina. I looked up at her for a couple seconds and then looked back down. "Hey Reno, are you ok?" said Selina concerned. She walked up to me and sat down in front of me and she saw my eyes look away from her. "What's the matter?" she asked me. The rest of the group looked at us wondering what was going on.

"Reno talk to me. What's wrong?" Selina asked me with a sad tone. I finally looked at her into her eyes as she looked into my light blue eyes. "I can't hide it anymore." I said. "Hide what?" she asked me. "This." I said. I leaned in front of her and finally kissed her. Her eyes widened in shock at first, but then she closed her eyes accepting the kiss. I could hear the group gasp all surprised and shocked. Our lips let go and we looked into each other's eyes and I saw her blush and smile as I did the same. "I've been in love with you for the past 5 years Selina. At first I didn't know what this feeling really was and how it felt. But now I finally know what this feeling is and how it feels. When I first looked into your eyes they were brighter than emeralds in the darkest caves of the world. When you smile it makes me smile just to be happy to be with you. You make my heart sing everytime I'm with you. I always saw you as my best friend but now you mean so much more to me. I love you Selina Storm, I love you." I said. Selina was shocked to hear what I just said to her. She looked down for a few seconds and then looked back up at me into my eyes. "Reno, I love you too." said Selina shyly. "You do?" I asked. "I do." said Selina. "What?!" Aerith and Taylor said in unison. "I've had a crush on you since we were in kindergarten. I've told nobody about it until now. I guess you can say that you're my childhood crush. I love everything about you. Your smile, eyes, hair, face, and everything else about you." said Selina. I smiled happily at her and then kissed her again.

"So? Will you go out with me?" I asked her. "Yes." she said happily. I hugged her tightly in my arms filled with happiness as we smiled knowing now we are official. "Congratulations you two lovebirds." said Zack. We looked at the group seeing them smiling at us happily. "Thank you guys." I said. After about two hours, we left Taylor's house and I took Selina to her house, kissed her goodnight, and I went back home ready to be at school with my new girlfriend.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 4 of the series! So… a surprise couple just happened, Reno and Selina are now a couple! They are just meant to be together. This chapter was mostly a Reno and Selina chapter because they needed sometime to shine in the story. The costumes that everyone was wearing in this chapter I do not own the rights to them and their franchises respectively! I know that Pokémon is a Nintendo franchise, but I wanted to include it as something the group would play the games and cards from time to time just for fun.**

 **Next time, Chapter 5: The Letter. On the day of school before Christmas break, Cloud finds a letter on his desk. Once he recognizes the handwriting on it what will he do?**


	5. Chapter 5: The Letter

**Chapter 5: The Letter**

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

It is December 19th and Christmas break starts after school today! I've been waiting so long for this two week break to get ready for snowboarding up at Mt. Nibel with the guys this year. I looked out my bedroom window and saw snow on the ground. It was around 4 inches of snow on the ground and it was all light and fluffy. I love it when it snows in Nibelheim just to see the scenery all over the place especially during Christmastime. All the houses, shops, and other buildings covered in Christmas decorations, the huge tree decorated in main square, and everyone is all happy and joyful. I walked downstairs to my kitchen seeing my Mom making breakfast before I go to school. "Hi Mom." I said. "Hi Cloud did you sleep well last night?" she asked me. "I did sleep well actually." I said happily. "That's good." she said happily. I looked at the table and saw a light green piece of paper and I wanted to know what it was.

"Hey Mom what's this?" I asked. She put our breakfast down onto the table and saw the green paper in my hand. "Oh your father and I got that at your school's little concert last night." she said. I looked inside it and saw a few names I recognized. I saw Callie's name there and saw Selina's, Aerith's, and Taylor's names as well. "I can't believe that I forgot about this." I said sadly. "Honey don't feel bad I'm pretty they understood why you forgot." said my Mom. I sighed sadly. I looked at the paper more and saw that Taylor had performed alot last night. "Wow Taylor must be really tired after last night." I said. "She was really good. I swear she was born to be on stage." said my Mom. I laughed happily to her response. "We have some videos of the show if you want to see them later." she said. "Alright I'll watch 'em later today." I said. We began to eat peacefully. As we were eating, my Dad walked in happy to see us. "Hey son you better make sure your bike is warmed up before you leave ok?" said my Dad. "Ok I'll do that." I said. "You missed out on watching Taylor perform last night, where were you?" he asked me. "I was at Zack's with Cid, but Reno told us that he went last night and the three of us felt really bad that we didn't go." I said. After eating, I went back into my room to get changed into nice warm clothes, grabbed my jacket and bag, put my cellphone in my right jacket pocket, and warmed up my bike outside.

I heard my phone ring and saw a text from Aerith asking where I was. I texted her that I was on my way. After about ten minutes I got on my bike ready to ride off to school. I looked at Taylor's house seeing only her parents there. I waved at them and they waved back happily. I rode off to school to meet up with the group. I parked my bike at the parking lot and walked inside the building. I looked into the cafeteria and saw the group at our table. "Hey guys sorry if I'm a little late." I said. "Don't worry Chocobo-head you're not late at all. You made it on time." said Zack. "Hey where's Tay?" Reno asked. "I thought she came with you two." said Yuffie. "No I thought she was with them." said Aerith as she pointed at me and Zack. "We have no clue." said Zack. Usually Taylor gets here about a couple minutes before I do to get our spot before school started. "Maybe she overslept after last night." said Reno. "Maybe." said Selina.

"By the way how did the concert go last night?" I asked Aerith. "It went really well! We all had fun last night." said Aerith. "Reno we're so sorry that we didn't go with you to see it." said Cid. "It's alright guys they understood that you three forgot. They're not mad about it I promise." said Reno. The three of us breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey babe I got the group photo from last night." said Selina to Reno. "Sweet! I wanna see!" said Reno happily. Selina pulled out her phone and showed him the photo. "Man we look good!" said Reno. "Can we see?" I asked. "Sure!" said Selina happily. We looked and saw the photo for the first time. It was Aerith, Selina, Reno, Taylor, and Callie in a group picture together. "Selina do you have some videos of last night?" Aerith asked. "I got the full video of Taylor's solo." said Selina. "Yes!" said Aerith happily. "Taylor got a solo?" Zack asked. "Yes she did!" said Selina. "Oh my God she did fantastic!" said Reno. "This I gotta see!" said Zack. Selina played the video showing Taylor on stage for about 3 minutes seeing her having fun and being herself up there. Only Selina and Aerith knew what she was singing but I was starstruck just to hear her sing like an angel. "Damn she sounds really good!" said Cid. "Agreed." said Cissnei. "I'm telling you she's meant to be on stage doing stuff like this." said Selina. At the end of the video we could hear Selina, Aerith, and Callie cheer. "I wish I had her singing voice." said Selina. "Maybe she can give you some singing lessons one day babe." said Reno. "You think so?" she asked him. "Yeah." he said.

The bell rang and we all left to our first classes. I walked into my science class and sat down at my desk. I looked at the door hoping to see Taylor walk in but she didn't. "Looks like she did oversleep." said Zack. I looked down feeling a little sad that she didn't come today. All day at school today we get to kick back and relax so no quizzes, tests, projects, and homework for today and the whole vacation! I looked at the group as we were watching a movie in class seeing them happy. "Hey Cloud what's that on your desk?" Zack asked me. I looked at my desk and saw an envelope taped onto my desk with my name on it. "If it's an early report card I swear-"said Reno. I opened the envelope and saw it was a letter which lasted about five pages long. "It's a letter." said Selina. I looked at it memorizing every word on it and saw that someone has been in love with me for quite sometime. As I kept reading it I started to recognize the handwriting on it. "Cloud's got a secret admirer huh?" said Reno. "Well who's it from?" Zack asked me. My eyes widened all surprised from it to see how much this person really cares about me more than anything else in the world, loves me for who I am inside and out, and finally say their true feelings for me. My heart began to race faster than the speed of sound and my face began to blush. "Hello?" said Aerith. I looked back at the group and they saw my face nearly all red. The girls took the letter and read it quietly as well and they got surprised by it too.

"Cloud do you know who wrote you this?" Aerith asked me. "I swear I know that handwriting from someone here." I said. The girls grabbed two chairs and sat down in front of my desk looking at me. "We know who it is." said Aerith. "Who is it?" I asked. Selina and Aerith looked at each other for a few seconds and then nodded at each other and then looked back at me. "It's Taylor." said Selina. My eyes widened in shock and surprised to hear that. "Taylor wrote him this?!" said Reno. "She did." said Selina. I looked back at the letter seeing her handwriting realizing that she's been in love with me for 8 years now. I began to smile and felt a couple tears fall on my face happily. "Aww buddy." said Zack as he patted my back. "Where is she?" I asked. "At home all scared of what your reaction to this would be." said Selina. Taylor being scared? That's something you rarely see from her. "So this is why she didn't come today." said Reno. "Yep that's why." said Aerith. "Hey you remember telling us you love her right?" Zack asked me. "Y-yes?" I said. "Well now you know that she loves you too!" said Zack happily.

"You two knew about this didn't you?" I asked them. Aerith and Selina nodded their heads yes to my question. I smiled at them shyly. "Tell you what after lunch, you go to her house and see her and the both of you can talk about this." said Aerith. "That way you have time to think about what you want to say to her." said Selina. I nodded my head to their responses. I put the letter back in the envelope and put it in my bag. The bell rang and I went to my next class and began counting down to lunch so I could go see Taylor. Nobody here in school could truly understand how excited I gotten today knowing now that my best friend has feelings for me as I have feelings for her too.

A couple hours had passed and it was finally lunch time! I got myself dismissed early thanks to a fake doctor's note I wrote up and copied my Mom's signature and it worked! I walked out of school and saw the group in the cafeteria waving at me and I waved back happily. I got on my bike and drove off to Taylor's house. As I was getting there, I saw the flower shop was open. I walked inside and bought a dozen red roses to surprise her. I looked around the shop and saw an ornament that read _Our First Christmas Together_ and I knew that I had to get it. I picked it out and bought it too. I walked out of the shop with my little gifts, got back on my bike, and got to Taylor's house. I parked my bike on my driveway and walked to her door. I took a deep breath and knocked on her door. "Taylor?" I said. I knocked again wondering if she heard me. After a couple minutes, I looked around the area seeing no one in sight, and I opened up the door and walked inside her house. I looked around her living room seeing the 8 foot tall tree all decorated very nicely.

I saw her stocking hung up on her chimney next to her Dad's stocking. I looked around the house seeing it all decorated beautifully. "Taylor? Where are you?" I said. I walked upstairs hoping that someone doesn't catch me. I walked down the hall and saw her bedroom door slightly open. I took another deep breath and walked inside very quietly. I looked around and saw Taylor sound asleep in her bed. "There you are." I said quietly. I put down my little gifts, slowly walked up to her, and layed down next to her. "Hey bud. Time to wake up." I said quietly. Her eyes twitched a little and she groaned a little too (she hates waking up in the morning). "Tay?" I said quietly. I ran my fingers through her hair slowly and gently wondering if she would notice. After that she instantly cuddled up to me not even knowing I was right next to her. "Hey Taylor." I said in my normal tone. I watched her open her eyes and she noticed something was a little different. "Hm?" she said tiredly. "Good morning sunshine." I said. Taylor looked up and saw me and she was surprised to see me. I laughed happily seeing her all surprised. "C-cloud! H-how did you get here? I thought you would be at school?" said Taylor. "I left early just to see you silly." I said. I got up and gave her the roses and we walked downstairs to the living room.

"Thank you for the roses." said Taylor shyly. "You're welcome." I said shyly. We sat down on the couch next to each other and we saw each other blush shyly. "So… do you want a coffee or anything?" Taylor asked nervously. "Uh y-yeah sure I would like some coffee." I said nervously. "Milk and two sugars right?" she asked. "You got it." I said. Taylor walked to the kitchen quietly. I turned around seeing my bag, opened it up, took out the letter and hid it in my pocket. "Here you go." said Taylor as she walked back in. "Thanks pal." I said. "You're welcome." she said. I looked at her seeing her wearing a Midgar University hoodie and blue flannel sweatpants and now starting to fully wake up. _"Come on Cloud, she's your best friend. You can do this. You can tell her anything. You know now that she really likes you, but does she know your feelings for her?"_ I said in my thoughts. "Cloud?" said Taylor. "Yeah?" I asked her. "Is something bothering you?" she asked me. I took a deep breath and we faced each other looking into each other's eyes. "Taylor, there's something I want to talk to you about." I said. "O-ok what is it?" said Taylor shyly. I took out the letter and showed it to her. "Y-you actually got it." she said nervously. "Yeah." I said shyly. Her face began to turn red and I saw that she was actually getting scared. "Don't be scared Tay it's just you and me. It's ok." I said.

Taylor took a deep breath and then looked back into my eyes all relaxed again. "You really want to know how I feel about this?" I asked her. "Y-yes." she said shyly. "Taylor, I loved it. I loved every single word you written on here. It moved me in so many ways of understanding how you really feel about me, especially when you wrote how you love me for who I really am. No girl that I dated has ever told me that at all. I was speechless when I first read this, but after looking at it a few more times I finally saw the real you come out of this after hiding this feeling for 8 years now. This is one of the most beautiful things that I've ever read in my entire life!" I said.

Taylor's eyes happily looked into mine and I saw her truly smile for the first time in a while. "You really loved it?" she asked happily. I nodded my head yes. "I'm really happy you loved it." she said. "But wait, there's something else." I said. "Oh? What is it?" she asked. I blushed red and took a deep breath. "I'm in love with you." I said. Taylor's eyes widened in shock. "You're in love with me?" said Taylor. "Yes." I said. We both went silent for a few minutes."For how long?" she asked. "Since I was 12 I've been in love with you. I love everything about you. Your eyes, your smile, your voice, everything. You light up my darkest days and nights, you are the only one who makes me truly happy. You are my soulmate. My diamond in the rough. Out of all the people in the world I only want to be with you. I want to be the one who will always love you just the way who you are. You mean the whole world to me. I love you my beautiful princess." I said. I looked and saw little tears fall from her eyes and she looked at me with a smile. I wiped her tears away and held her tight in my arms knowing now we finally said our true feelings to each other. "Taylor?" I said. "Yeah?" she said. "I know its crazy to ask you this now but can I kiss you?" I asked her. After I said that she kissed my cheek and looked right back at me. "Yes you can." said Taylor.

I looked deep into her brown eyes and then finally kissed her. Our hearts finally began to beat as one. This was the feeling that I've been searching for. Just to share this moment with my best friend. Our lips let go and we looked into each other's eyes again and we smiled happily. "Now I got something crazy to ask you." said Taylor. "What would that be?" I said. "Will you go out with me?" she asked. "Yes." I said happily. I kissed her happily. "You're too cute." I said. "You're cute too Cloudy." said Taylor happily. I smiled at her from her response. For a couple hours we watched a movie together and cuddled. When the movie ended we heard a knock on the window. We turned and saw Aerith, Zack, and the group outside and we let them in. "So are you two official?" Selina asked us. "Yep we're official." said Taylor as she held my hand.

After they congratulated us, I remembered the ornament. I ran back up to her room seeing the little bag and I brought it back down. "What's this?" said Taylor. "Open it and you'll see." I said. She opened the bag and saw the ornament for the first time. "Look what it says." I said. " _Our First Christmas Together._ Aww Cloudy it's adorable! Thank you!" she said happily as she hugged me. "You're welcome babe." I said as I hugged her. "Hang on; you two can put a picture in here. Do you two wanna take a picture together now as a couple?" Aerith asked us. "Yes." Taylor and I said in unison. We both stood in front of the tree together and Aerith took our picture. We printed out the photo about a half hour later and put the picture in the ornament. We both found a spot on the tree to hang it so everyone could see it.

An hour had passed and we all sat down watching a Christmas movie together talking and laughing together happily. We heard the door open and saw my parents and Taylor's parents walk in. "Hi." said Taylor to her parents. "Hi honey." said her Mom. The four of them looked and saw me and Taylor holding hands and cuddled close together. Their jaws dropped a little and then they smiled at us happily. We looked at Taylor's Dad as he saw her being a little shy. "I think she wants your approval Zeus." said Taylor's Mom. "You think so Holly?" he asked her. She nodded her head yes. He looked at his daughter seeing her snuggle up to me. "Taylor, I approve of him." he said. "You do?" Taylor asked. He nodded his head yes. She smiled at him and hugged him. "Thank you Daddy." she said. "You're welcome sweetheart." he said. I looked at my parents and I knew they approved of Taylor to be with me. We told them how we got together and they hugged us.

After our friends left, we had dinner with our parents together and they saw the ornament for the first time. "It's beautiful Cloud." said my Mom. "Thank you Mom." I said. "Hey guys come here." said Taylor's Dad. "What is it?" Taylor asked. "See that shadow on the wall? Who does it look like?" he asked us. We looked at the shadow he mentioned and Taylor's eyes widened now knowing who it was. "Well who is it?" I asked her. "It's Adam." she said. I looked at it and saw that it was his shadow watching us. "Now you know he's watching over you." said my Dad. I told them that Adam approved of me to be with her before he died and Taylor was surprised about that. She started to cry happily knowing that she has his approval too. I held her tight letting her know that everything's ok now.

After dinner ended, Taylor and I walked up to her room and we layed down on her bed talking, laughing, cuddling, and kissing a little bit before we fell asleep. Our parents walked in seeing me holding Taylor in my arms as we slept. They smiled and closed the door quietly to let us sleep peacefully for the night as a new chapter of our lives has finally begun.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 5 of the series! Well it happened; Taylor and Cloud are now a couple! It took them sometime to find out their feelings for each other and now with their true feelings said they are now together! Their bond has become something more and it will make them stronger together.**

 **Next time, Chapter 6: Shatter Me. Reno and Selina had a huge fight and they want the group to choose sides. Whose sides will they be on? What was the fight about? Find out in Chapter 6!**


	6. Chapter 6: Shatter Me

**Chapter 6: Shatter Me**

 _Zack's P.O.V._

Today is Wednesday January 2nd and time to head back to school after the two week break we had. I stayed at the ski and snowboarding resort on Mt. Nibel with the guys and my Dad for a few days and it was alot of fun just to be there with them skiing and snowboarding for hours and then warm up by the fire while drinking hot chocolate. During the trip I've noticed that Cloud was alot happier ever since he and Taylor got together and it makes me happy too as he found someone who truly cares about him and loves him for who he is.

I drove to school after the winter tires were put on my truck before vacation ended and I sat in the parking lot. "Man where is everyone?" I said to myself. I looked to my left and saw Cloud and Taylor on his bike and they parked next to me. "Hey lovebirds." I said after I got out of the truck. "Hi Zack!" said Taylor happily as she gave me a hug. "The two week break went by really fast huh?" I asked them. "Yeah it did go really fast." said Cloud as he put his arm around Taylor's waist keeping her close to him. "Little protective now Strife?" I asked him. "Was I mad when she hugged you?" he asked me. "No?" I said. "It's because I trust you Zack." said Cloud. I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Come on let's get inside before we freeze to death." said Taylor.

The three of us walked into school and I saw alot of girls looking at Taylor and Cloud seeing them hand in hand and I saw that few of them were jealous. We walked to the cafeteria and saw Aerith, Yuffie, Cissnei, and Cid waiting for us. "Hey guys." I said. "Hey Zack." said Cid. "How's everybody doing?" I asked them. "Cid and I are doing good." said Cissnei happily. "I'm doing good too." said Yuffie. "Same here." said Aerith. "That's good to hear." I said happily. "Hey where's Reno and Selina?" said Cloud. We all turned around and saw them walk in all mad at each other. "Uh what's up with them?" I asked Aerith. "They're in a huge fight and they've been arguing since yesterday." she said. "What was it about?" I asked. "Selina wouldn't tell me and Taylor about it." she said. "I'm thinking that they thought one of them was cheating." I said. "You maybe right, but we still don't really know what's going on." said Aerith.

Reno and Selina sat down with us and they didn't look at each other at all. The rest of us looked at each other in an awkward silence and then looked back at Reno and Selina. "Uh… hi you two?" I said. "Hey." said Reno. "Hi." said Selina. "You guys alright? 'Cause if you're not, you know you can talk to us about it." I said. They looked at each other for a couple seconds and then they looked away still angry at each other. I looked at Aerith and Taylor seeing them roll their eyes showing that they're not amused about this new problem. We heard the bell ring and we went to class.

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

We walked into Mr. Carter's room quietly and sat down in our seats. As we walked in, Mr. Carter saw Taylor and I holding hands and I saw Taylor look at him and she smiled. "What was that for hun?" I asked her. "Now he knows we're together and he just told me that we look really cute together." she said. I made her sit on my lap and wrapped my arms around her resting my chin on her shoulder. We looked at Zack and Aerith as they sat next to us and the four of us smiled at each other. "Hey Taylor, can I talk to you in the hallway alone?" Selina asked her. "Uh… yeah, sure." said Taylor. As she stood up, Reno grabbed her right arm and pulled her towards him. "Don't believe any word that she'll say to you." said Reno. Taylor looked at him all shocked. Selina then grabbed her left arm pulling Taylor towards her. "Don't listen to that lying cheater over there." said Selina. "Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy on Taylor ok. She's not a toy you know." said Zack. Selina and Taylor walked out of the room.

Aerith, Zack, and I looked at Reno as he looked at us. "Reno, why did Selina call you a lying cheater?" Zack asked him. "She thinks I hooked up with her cousin Melody at her family's Christmas Eve Party." said Reno. "Well… did you?" Aerith asked him. "No I didn't. All that happened was that Melody gave me a kiss on the cheek. I noticed that she was a little drunk too. The next morning, Selina starts yelling at me accusing me of cheating because her sister told her that. Man, her little sister is one of the biggest liars I have ever met in my entire life!" said Reno angrily. "So why isn't she going after her cousin?" I asked him. "I said that to her too, but she wouldn't listen to me!" said Reno. "But she'll listen to Taylor?" said Aerith. The four of us looked at each other in an awkward silence. "She better not believe her." said Reno. "Hey leave Taylor alone!" I said. Reno looked at me surprised. We turned to the door and saw Selina and Taylor walk back into the room.

"Hey pumpkin." I said to Taylor. "Hey babe." she said as she sat back down on my lap. "Everything alright?" I whispered. She shook her head no. I kissed her cheek and let her put her head on my shoulder. Aerith put her hand on Taylor's shoulder and Zack ruffled Taylor's hair a little bit. "She told you her side of the story?" I asked her. "Yeah she did, but I also need to hear Reno's side of the story so I can figure out exactly what's going on." Taylor whispered. "Well, he told us his side of the story." I whispered. "What did he say?" she whispered. "I'll tell you at lunch." I whispered. We looked at Zack and Aerith and they hugged her as we knew something was wrong. The bell rang and I walked Taylor to her next class. I gave her a little kiss and I went to my next class. _"This day isn't going to be good."_ I said in my thoughts.

Two hours had passed and I sat down at history class with Zack, Cid, and Reno. Zack and I looked next door and saw Aerith and Selina were there. "Where's your girlfriend?" Zack asked me. We looked at the girls and they saw us. We walked into their classroom and sat with them. "Where did Taylor go?" I asked them. "She's in the guidance office talking with her counselor." said Aerith. "She's been there for an hour now." said Selina. I took out my phone and started texting her. _"You ok babe? I'm worried about you."_ I texted her. _"Yeah I'm ok, just not in a good mood. I'm sorry that I got you worried sweetheart. Ever since hearing about their problem it's gotten me a little mad and upset."_ she texted me back. _"I understand pumpkin; it's gotten me a little mad too. But right now I want to make sure that you're alright. When you come back, come see me ok?"_ I texted her back. _"I will. Love you Cloudy."_ she texted me back. " _Love you too honey."_ I texted her back. "Is she ok?" Selina asked me worriedly. "Yeah she's ok. She's just not in a good mood right now." I said. Zack and I walked back into our class and finished our classwork.

About five minutes before the bell rang, Taylor walked into my classroom. I got up and held her tight in my arms, swaying her slowly, and rubbed her back. Reno looked at us and he knew that Taylor was upset. He looked next door seeing the girls not looking at us and he looked back at me. "Tay?" said Reno worriedly. She looked up at him and he hugged her for a minute. "Don't talk about it at lunch ok guys? I already told Taylor my side of the story." said Reno. "Well, Selina told us her side of the story too." I said. "So, who do you guys believe? Me or her?" Reno asked us. "I believe you man." said Cid. "Me too." said Zack. "Me three." I said. Reno put his hand on Taylor's shoulder looking at her all worried. "Taylor? Whose story do you believe?" he asked her. "I don't know. All I'm trying to do is find out who started this whole fight. I can't choose between my best friends. So please, don't make me pick a side. Just let me help the both of you sort this whole thing out." said Taylor in a sad tone. "Ok. We won't make you pick a side." said Reno worriedly. After all that, the bell rang and we went to lunch.

 _Zack's P.O.V._

We walked to the cafeteria and Cloud, Taylor, and I sat down at our table. Cloud and I kept patting Taylor's back to show her that we're here for her. I looked behind me and saw Aerith and Selina walk in and they saw Taylor all upset. "Taylor come here." said Aerith. She hugged Taylor and Selina hugged her too. "You know they're going to ask her to be on Selina's side." I whispered to Cloud. "Hopefully they won't. You saw Taylor nearly have a mental breakdown right in our class. Let's hope they don't say anything." Cloud whispered to me. Aerith and Selina let Taylor go and she sat back down next to Cloud and I. We looked and saw Cid, Cissnei, Yuffie, and Reno walk in and sit down with us. We started eating in silence hoping that someone can say something different instead of the drama we're facing right now. I looked at Taylor seeing that she wasn't eating at all and she stayed really quiet. "Taylor?" I said. She looked at me not saying a word. "You ok buddy?" I asked her. She shook her head no. "Hey I know what'll cheer you up." I said.

I opened my bag and took out a little bag of gumballs and showed it to her. "Come on Tay. You know you like them." I said. For the first time in my life, she refused to take the candy from me. Cloud looked at her and kissed her hand as he held it. "Babe?" Cloud said to Taylor. I looked at Reno and Selina as they looked at her knowing what they're fight has done to her. "What's wrong Tay?" Yuffie asked her. "I'm just not in a good mood right now." said Taylor. "Why? What happened?" Yuffie asked her again. Taylor looked up at her and Yuffie saw in Taylor's eyes that something was bugging her. "Is it the fight that these two are having?" said Yuffie. Taylor sadly nodded her head yes. "Speaking about it, whose side are you on Tay?" Selina asked her. Cloud and I looked at each other all scared of what's going to happen. "What will happen if she doesn't choose your side Selina?" Cid asked her nervously. "Then I guess she won't be my friend anymore." said Selina.

After she just said that, Taylor got up, grabbed her bag, and walked out. "Selina!" said Cissnei. "What?" said Selina. "That was harsh." said Aerith. I looked at Reno, Cid, and Cloud knowing that Selina had just crossed the line with Taylor. "See what you're stupid fight has done you two? It made your best friend walk out all upset!" I said to Selina and Reno. They looked at me and saw how mad I was. "I can't believe you Selina. You care about this dumb fight more than your best friend?! The one who was always there for you, your father, and your little sister for years especially when your mother passed away after leaving your father?!" I said to her. "Shut up Zack!" said Selina. "You know that Taylor acted like a mother to you. She always helped you with your problems and now you're going to throw it all away because she doesn't believe your side of the story?" I said. Selina looked at me all shocked and surprised. "If I were you, I'd go after her and apologize to her right now in front of her face." I said. "Wait a minute guys, you two said this whole thing started when her little sister said all of the cheating stuff to Selina right?" Aerith asked them. "Yeah?" said Reno and Selina together. "So… who do you think Taylor's going after?" said Aerith. We all looked at each other shocked.

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

After walking out of school, I started walking to Selina's house and I knew exactly why. After hearing both sides of the same story, I knew that Selina's little sister Emma was behind all of this. I walked upto Selina's house, knocked on the door, and saw Selina's Dad open up the door seeing me. "Hi Taylor!" said Selina's Dad happily. "Hi David! May I come in?" I asked happily. "Sure come on in! You know you're always welcome here." said David. "Thank you David." I said happily. I walked inside the house and saw a picture of Selina and Emma together all happy. "Is there something wrong Taylor?" David asked me. "I know who started the cheating rumor that Selina was talking about." I said. "Oh really? Who was it if I may ask?" said David. "It was Emma." I said. David sighed and then looked at me again. "I knew it. I knew it was her." he said. "Really? How come?" I asked curiously. "Ever since Selina has started dating Reno, Emma has gotten pretty jealous of her." said David.

"Is it because she has a crush on him?" I asked. "No that's not it." said David. Before he said anything else, Emma walked into the living room seeing me in the house. "Emma, Taylor would like to talk to you." said David. "About what Daddy?" said Emma. "It's about Selina." he said. Emma is eight years younger than Selina. She has long straight brown hair like her sister and has brown eyes from her mother. I knelt down in front of her and I saw her eyes trying to look away from me. "Emma, can we talk about it in your room?" I asked her nicely. "S-sure." said Emma nervously.

We walked into her room seeing that it was a tiny mess inside, but it didn't bother me since I like to keep my room a little messy too. We sat down on her bed, our backs up against a wall and we looked at each other. "So Emma, do you know why I came here?" I asked her. "To ask me if I started the rumor of Selina's boyfriend cheating on her?" said Emma. I nodded my head yes to her question. She looked away from me and I saw tears form in her eyes and then she sat on my lap crying, putting her head on my right shoulder. "So… you were the one who did this?" I asked her calmly. "Y-yes. I-it was me Taylor. I'm so sorry." she said while crying. I looked at her all surprised and then held her tight in my arms. "Why did you do that?" I asked her. "Because I was jealous of her." she said. "Jealous of her spending time with him instead of you?" I asked.

She looked up at me and nodded her head yes. "Emma, you know that Selina would never want to upset you like this. I know that she always has time for you." I said. "Then why is she always with him when I need her the most!" she yelled. My eyes widened in shock. "She's becoming my Mom! Always caring about herself instead of her family. She's being a jerk Taylor. I hate her!" she said. I was completely speechless to hear all of that from an eight year old. My heart sunk into my stomach. "Sometimes I wish that you were my big sister. You always put your friends and family before yourself. You are always nice and friendly to people when they need help. You're my sister's only friend that is always here for me. You go to my events, games, everything! Why can't you be my big sister?!" Emma cried.

I looked at her door and saw David walk and I already knew that he just everything that his daughter just said to me. "Emma, you know that not's true. Your sister is not like your Mom and you know that. Selina has always been here for you. She goes to all of your stuff and has always supported you every step of the way. But you have to understand that she is going to start seeing guys her age and she wants to find the one that will only love her for who she truly is. And she wants to see that one guy that will love you too and help her take care of you. And I think she has found the right guy that she has wanted for her entire life as he has always loved you too. Sure she can be a jerk sometimes, but she really isn't. Right now she might be looking for me after I just walked out of school after saying if I didn't join her side, I wasn't going to be her friend anymore." I said.

"Selina said that to you?" David asked me. I nodded my head yes. "Why did she say that to you Taylor? You're her best friend. You're like a sister to her." said Emma after she calmed down. "And she still is Emma." said a voice. We looked out the door and saw Selina and Reno by the door. I looked at Emma seeing her stand in front of me all mad at Selina. Selina and Reno walked into the room and sat down next to us holding hands again. "You two heard everything didn't you?" I asked them. "Every single word." said Reno. "I'm very sorry Selina. I was all mad that you weren't spending time with me as you used too before you started seeing him. I just want my big sister back." said Emma. Selina hugged Emma tight in her arms accepting her apology. "Hey babe, don't you have to apologize to your best friend now?" Reno said to Selina. Selina and I looked at each other. "Taylor, I am so sorry for what I said to you back in the cafeteria. It was wrong of me to say something stupid like that in front of you. The whole fight was completely frickin ridiculous and I let it go over my head. Can you forgive me?" said Selina. "Yeah I forgive you." I said happily. Selina smiled at me and we hugged each other. Reno hugged the both us and we laughed happily knowing now the fight is over.

I walked out of her house and I saw Cloud on his bike waiting for me and he saw a smile on my face. "Hey sweetheart." I said happily. "Hey babe." he said happily. He got off his bike and pulled me in for a warm, gentle kiss. "You two made up?" Cloud asked me. "Yep. Everything is ok now. Problems solved and over with." I said as I got onto the back of his bike. "That's good to hear." he said. He got onto the bike and we heard the engine roar. "Ready to head home pumpkin?" Cloud asked me. I nodded my head yes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Cloud smiled and we drove home together.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 6 of the series! Man, what an emotional roller coaster for Taylor. She hates it when her best friends fight each other and make the others choose sides. Now the group knows if a fight like this happens again, don't make Taylor choose a side.**

 **Now, the part when Zack tried to give Taylor a little bag of gumballs. When they were little kids, Zack always brought them to school and he and Taylor always shared them together all the time. To me, that's a part of how their friendship had grown throughout the years.**

 **About Selina's mother, she used to be a very nice lady but after Emma was born; her life began to fall through the cracks. She ended up sleeping with one of her ex boyfriends and once David found out about it, she left him and their daughters. After Selina's mother left her family, she died in a car accident leaving David and his two daughters devastated.**

 **Next time, Chapter 7: In Remembrance. It is January 9** **th** **and that day was supposed to be Adam's birthday. Taylor wants to do something in his honor but what if he came to see her for one last time?**


	7. Chapter 7: In Remembrance

**Chapter 7: In Remembrance**

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

Today is January 9th and it is a very sad day for me and my family. Today would've been my cousin Adam's 29th birthday. That day means so much to me now ever since he passed away almost a year and a half ago. He was more than just my cousin; he was my best friend and an older brother to me. I woke up this morning at around 6, took a shower, and changed into a black t-shirt and gray jeans. I looked and saw Adam's high school hat and jacket, and his green bandana and I put them on as well. I put the bandana around my neck and put long front of it tucked it into the back of my shirt as he used to do it. I looked at myself in the mirror and began to cry a little bit. "Happy birthday Adam. I miss you so much." I said to myself. I packed up my bag and then walked downstairs.

I walked into the kitchen and saw my parents eating breakfast quietly, so I sat down and began to eat quietly too. My Dad looked at me seeing me wearing Adam's hat, jacket, and bandana for the first time since his death. My Mom looked at me seeing that I was a little sad as she and Dad knew what today was. "Taylor?" said my Mom. I looked up at them seeing that they were sad too. "We know how much today means to you. It means alot to us as well. We miss him as much as you do. I know that he's up in heaven watching over you right now wanting to see a smile on your face, his little rockstar." said my Dad as he patted my back.

We heard a knock on the front door. "Come on in." said my Dad. We looked and saw Cloud walk inside and I walked upto him. "Come here honey." said Cloud as he opened his arms for a hug. I hugged him wanting a long embrace before we leave. "I miss him so much." I muffled on his chest. "I know baby, I know." he said as I cried on his shoulder. I felt him kiss my head and his hands rubbing my back as he calmed me down. We put our foreheads together, looked into each other's eyes as my arms were around his neck and his arms were around my waist, and he kissed my tears away. "You really don't wanna go to school today huh babe?" Cloud asked me. "I really don't want to go." I said. We put our bags down and sat down on the couch. "Want me to stay here with you?" he asked. "Please?" I asked him. Cloud smiled a little and then he kissed my nose. "Ok I'll stay." he said.

An hour later, my parents left for work and it was just Cloud and I all alone in my house. We promised that we would go to the cemetery around 2 p.m. to see Adam's grave for about an hour or two. We walked upto my room and sat down on one of my beanbag chairs together. I layed my head onto his chest and his right arm was wrapped around me. I looked up at him as he looked down at me and he gave me little butterfly kisses wanting to make me smile. After the first few kisses I finally smiled at him. "There's the smile!" he said happily and then he started tickling me and got me to laugh. "Cloud! Stop it!" I laughed happily. "I won't stop until you smile for more than an hour!" Cloud laughed happily. We kept on laughing and then we fell onto the floor.

We stopped laughing for a few minutes trying to catch our breath and we started kissing a little harder than we usually do. Cloud bit my lower lip a little and made me gasp for a second and we started making out. I could hear him moan slightly and I did the same. We stopped and looked into each other's eyes and he made a little dirty smile. "Are you ok?" I asked him. He didn't say a word. We started making out again and he lifted me up, putting me on my bed on my back, and he layed down on top of me. His lips let go of mine and he started kissing my neck, slightly nibbling it at the same time. Once he bit down on my neck pretty hard, I knew exactly what he was trying to do. "You're so beautiful." said Cloud as he kept kissing my neck. I felt his hand go to my lower back and I instantly felt uncomfortable, so I shoved him off of me and he came back into his senses.

"What's the matter Tay?" Cloud asked me in concern. "Do you realize what we almost did?" I asked him sternly. He looked at my neck seeing the mark he just made. He covered his mouth all shocked about it. "Babe I'm so sorry! I didn't know what I was doing. I lost myself. I'm really sorry babe." said Cloud with a pout on his face. I crawled upto him seeing him all scared and upset for what he had done and I felt really bad. I pulled him into my arms and I started kissing his face. "Honey its ok. I don't want you all upset about this. We knew this feeling would come one day, but we didn't think it would happen now. To be honest, I lost myself during it too." I said. "You did?" he asked me. I nodded my head yes. "I guess that we aren't really ready to do "it" yet huh?" said Cloud. "One day we'll be ready." I said. We both laughed happily and hugged each other. "I love you baby." I said. "I love you too." said Cloud. After all that, we both took a nap.

Four and a half hours later, we woke up from our nap and saw it was 1 in the afternoon. We got up and I made us a little lunch and we sat down at the kitchen table eating the little BLT I made for us. "I swear you cook better than my Mom!" said Cloud. "No I don't! You're bluffing!" I said. "I'm not bluffing; I'm telling you the truth Taylor. You have a magic touch when you cook." said Cloud. "I do?" I asked him. He nodded his head yes. I smiled a little bit at him and he smiled back.

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

After eating lunch, we started putting on our shoes and jackets ready to leave the house. I looked at Taylor seeing her look outside her backyard at the treehouse and I knew that her heart was breaking apart as she looked at it. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, swaying slowly as we looked outside. "That treehouse means alot to you right?" I asked her. "Adam and my Dad built it together when I was five years old and it was our little hiding spot when our families were here from time to time. He wouldn't go up there with his siblings; he would only go up there with me. We would tell each other secrets and stories all day long." she said. "I think that's what he would want you to remember him. Remember all the good times you shared with him, the times he made you happy, not the one bad thing that took him away." I said. Taylor looked up at me staring into my eyes and showed a smile. "There's my smile." I said. I gave her a soft, gentle kiss and stroked her hair a little bit. "Ready to go?" I asked her. "Yeah. I'm ready." she said.

Before we left, she ran upstairs like she forgot something up there. I ran up after her wondering what she was doing. "Tay? What are you doing?" I asked her. She opened up one of the draws in her room and saw a little box inside and she took the box out. "What is that?" I asked. "It's an engraved stone. I wanted to do this in honor of him for awhile now. It proves how much I still think of him everyday. His Mom did this for her parents years ago and he did the same, so I thought I would do this for him." said Taylor. We looked at the stone seeing Adam's name on it and with a personal message she put on it. "It's beautiful." I said. "Thanks sweetie." she said. She put the stone back into the box. I took her hand and we walked outside, got on my bike, and drove off to the cemetery.

As we parked the bike on the pathway, we looked to our right and saw Adam's gravestone in front of us. I looked at Taylor seeing her really nervous. I took her hand and held it tight showing her that I'm right here with her. We got off the bike and walked upto the gravestone. "Looks like some of your family has been here." I said. "Yeah." said Taylor sadly. We looked and saw little candles on the gravestone all lit up. We knelt down on one knee and closed our eyes doing a silent prayer for a few seconds. I opened my eyes and looked at Taylor seeing tears falling on her face and I knew that this was really hard for her. She put her head up and opened her eyes staring at the gravestone. I patted her back helping her stay calm for now. Taylor took out the engraved stone from the box and put it on the gravestone. "Come on, let's head home." I said. I took her hand and we walked upto my bike ready to go.

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

"There's my little rockstar!" said a voice. My eyes grew wide instantly recognizing the voice. "Taylor? What's the matter?" Cloud asked me. I looked at the gravestone and then saw a gold light on the ground. Appearing from the light showed a young adult male with a halo above his head and he was physically real. "Hey cuz. I missed you." said the voice again. I looked at him seeing the green eyes, brown hair, white t-shirt, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers. I got off the bike and saw that the figure staring at me was really Adam! I felt tears escape my eyes again but this time they were happy tears. Cloud looked at him too and he was shocked and surprised as well. "Adam!" I cried as I ran upto him. I jumped into his arms and he began to laugh happily as held me tight in his arms and spun me around. "Hi cuz." said Adam happily. "I missed you so much." I cried. "I missed you too Tay. I love you." said Adam. "I love you too." I cried. We both looked and saw Cloud all speechless of what he's seeing right in front of him.

"Come here Spike." said Adam happily. After he put me down, Adam and Cloud shared a little long embrace. "I missed you so much." Cloud cried. "I missed you too Spike." said Adam. After they let go, I saw tears falling on Cloud's face. "H-how is this possible?" said Cloud. "I asked the goddess in heaven if I could visit her for only today just to make her really happy and she said yes! So here I am." said Adam. Adam looked and saw his hat, jacket, and bandana on me just like how he used to wear them. "Now who taught you how to dress like that?" said Adam jokingly. I laughed happily and showed a true smile. "There's the smile!" said Adam happily. The three of us laughed happily. I walked upto Cloud and held his hand and we looked at Adam. "Aww look at you two, you guys are so cute together!" said Adam. "Thanks." said Cloud. "I've always known that you guys were meant to be." said Adam. "For how long?" I asked him. "Since you both were little." he said. Cloud and I looked at each other surprised wondering if he has seen our memories for sometime or not.

We walked upto the gravestone and Adam got a good look of what the family and his friends had left him here. "Happy birthday Adam." I said happily. "Thank you Tay." said Adam happily. Adam looked and saw my engraved stone and he picked it up. "To my cousin/best friend, this stone I give to you symbolizes how much I think of you everyday. I know that you're always watching over me in heaven, but sometimes I wish that you were still here watching me grow up right in front of you and I hope to be the same kind and generous person as you one day." Adam read out loud. After he read it, I looked at him and showed a little smile. He showed a little smile too. "Come here cuz." said Adam.

I walked upto him and we hugged each other for a minute. "Thank you Taylor. You are the best cousin I could have ever asked for." said Adam. "You're welcome." I said. Adam put my engraved stone in his pocket. I walked back to Cloud and stayed right beside him. The three of us looked and saw the golden sunlight appear on the ground again. "I guess that it's my time to head back now." said Adam. I put my head a little low knowing it's time to really say goodbye to him. "Taylor?" said Cloud. I looked up at him and Adam as they knew I don't want to say goodbye. "I got a little surprise for you before I go." said Adam as he put his hand on my shoulder. "W-what is it?" I asked him. He turned to the golden light and whistled.

We looked at the light and saw a dog walk out of the light. As it walked out, we saw the type of dog it was. It was a Golden Retriever and it was wearing a blue collar with a gold tag. My jaw dropped a little in shock and happiness as I recognized the dog. "No way." said Cloud surprised. I fell to my knees seeing the dog looking at me happily. "Come here Shadow!" I said happily. Shadow ran to me and jumped into my arms making me fall on my back as Shadow licked my face. I could hear Shadow bark happily while I was laughing happily. "I missed you boy." I said as I petted him. Shadow was adopted by me and my parents by a breeder when I was 4 years old and he had brought us alot of happy memories for 9 years. He passed away from cancer when I was 13 years old.

After Shadow got off me, we looked at Cloud as he knelt down to him. "Hey boy, remember me?" said Cloud. Shadow barked happily and jumped on Cloud making him fall on his back and Shadow licked him happily making Cloud laugh. "Aww he remembers you Cloud!" I said happily. "He sure does." said Cloud. After petting and hugging Shadow for a couple more minutes, he ran upto Adam and we knew that it was time to say goodbye. "Bye Spike." said Adam. "Bye Adam." said Cloud. I looked at Adam as he walked upto me seeing my eyes begin to form tears. "Hey, one last hug before I go?" Adam asked. I walked upto him and hugged him tight. "Bye my little rockstar. I'll always be with you no matter what." said Adam. "Bye Adam. I love you." I said. "I love you too." said Adam. I whispered something in his ear before we stopped hugging. After letting him go, Cloud and I watched Adam and Shadow walk into the golden light and then they disappeared. The golden light faded away after they disappeared. "You alright Tay?" Cloud asked me. I held his hand and looked at him. "Yeah, I'm alright now. After what we just saw, the burden I felt inside my heart just lifted and faded away for good." I said. Cloud smiled at me and pulled me into his arms holding and swaying me.

"Well, now you know that he is safe and happy up there. He understood what he did was wrong and that he's always with you." said Cloud. I looked into his eyes and gave him a little peck on his lips and smiled happily. "By the way, what did you whisper to him?" Cloud asked. "I told him to see his parents and siblings just to make them happy too." I said. We looked at the gravestone for about a minute and then got on Cloud's bike. "So… you wanna grab something to eat?" said Cloud. "Sure!" I said. We drove off and went somewhere to eat and then stayed at his house for the rest of the day.

The next morning came and we both got to the parking lot at school. I looked to my right and saw Zack's truck. "He got here before us? That's a rare sight to see." said Cloud. We looked and saw Zack kissing someone. "Who is that with him?" Cloud asked. As I looked closer, I saw that it was Aerith kissing Zack! My jaw dropped all surprised. "I know who it is!" I said. "Who?" said Cloud. "It's Aerith." I said. Cloud's jaw dropped seeing them together and he was surprised too. "And look, he left his window open. Idiot." said Cloud. I looked at the ground and made a snowball. Cloud and I made little smirks. "Do it." said Cloud. I threw the snowball and it hit Zack at the back of his head. "Hey!" Zack yelled. Aerith and Zack got out of his truck looking around to see who was there. They walked upto his side of the truck and were shocked to see us.

"H-hey guys." said Zack nervously. They looked at us and recognized the smirks on our faces. "We saw you two smooching in there." I said. Zack and Aerith blushed all embarrassed. "So when did you two get together?" Cloud asked. "On Saturday." said Aerith. "I gotta say, you two look really cute together." I said. "Aww thank you Taylor!" said Aerith happily. "We wanted to tell you two yesterday, but obviously you two didn't come at all." said Zack. "You know why we didn't go to school yesterday." said Cloud. "Yeah we know." said Zack. After our little chat, the four of us walked inside ready to get the school day over with.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 7 of the series! Alright, so two major things have happened. Taylor got to see Adam for one last time and Zack and Aerith are now a couple!**

 **When Taylor got to see Adam again, her heart became happy again to see her best friend being with her just like in her childhood and it made her forget the pain and burden of him being gone knowing now she heard him say that he'll always be with her in her heart.**

 **Now, how Zack and Aerith became a couple. On that Saturday Aerith went to visit Zack at his house, stayed over for dinner, and she and Zack walked into his room finally confessing their feelings for each other. They shared their first kiss and officially started dating.**

 **Next time, Chapter 8: Battle of the Classes. It is the winter pep rally at NHS! At every winter pep rally, there's always the Battle of the Classes to prove which grade has the best dancers of the year. Which class will win this year? Freshman? Sophomore? Junior? Senior? Find out in Chapter 8!**


	8. Chapter 8: Battle of the Classes

**Chapter 8: Battle of the Classes**

 _Selina's P.O.V._

Today is January 18th and it is the winter pep rally at school today! I stayed over Aerith's house last night to get ready for today. Originally we were supposed to stay at Taylor's house last night, but we couldn't after she said that she was leaving early in the morning. Aerith and I got into my car and we drove off to school and parked near the field house a.k.a. the gym. We were told if students that are participating in the pep rally, they have to stay in the field house for the day. "Wow, the place is packed today." said Aerith. "Yeah. I wonder how many people are in the Battle of the Classes this year?" I asked her. "Probably about 20 per class, but we'll see later today though." said Aerith. I nodded my head in agreement.

We looked around the field house and we saw the rest of the cheer-leading team waiting for us. We walked with them to the big blue mat on the middle of the basketball court and we all practiced our stunts for an hour. After practicing for an hour, Aerith and I sat down on the bleachers where we saw the huge sign that said Juniors on it. I took my phone out and saw a text from Reno. _"Hey babe, just wondering how your practice went and to let you know that the guys and I will meet you and Aerith at the field house at fourth period. Love you."_ Reno texted. I smiled happily at the text. I put my phone back in my bag and looked up at Aerith seeing her smiling at her phone. "Zack texted you?" I asked her. "Yeah, and knowing him when it comes to texting, he can't spell nearly anything pretty well." said Aerith. "His phone doesn't have auto correct?" I asked. "That's the best part about his phone; he turned his auto correct off because he thought it was pointless. One day he's going to send a text that will embarrass him for the rest of his life." said Aerith. We both laughed happily and we started helping teachers in the field house set up for the pep rally.

After an hour of setting up, we looked and saw Yuffie and Cissnei walk in with the guys. "Hi sweetie pie." I said to Reno. "Hey gorgeous." said Reno. I gave him a peck on the lips. "Sorry if science class sucked today." I said. "It did suck, we had the most boring substitute in the school and Taylor wasn't even there with us." said Reno. We looked at Cloud and he looked at us all confused. "What?" Cloud asked us. "Where's your girlfriend?" I asked him. "I don't know where she is to be honest with you. I texted her this morning and she didn't respond to it. I'm a little worried that something went wrong." said Cloud. "Well she texted me last night that she was leaving her house early this morning. Technically Aerith and I were supposed to be at Taylor's house last night, but we couldn't after she texted me that." I said. "Wait a minute, does that mean that Taylor's in the Battle of the Classes this year?" said Reno. My jaw dropped and I looked at Aerith as she saw the shock on my face.

"Selina, are you ok?" Aerith asked me. "Yeah I'm fine." I said. "Well what happened?" said Aerith. "Taylor's in the Battle of the Classes this year." I said. Aerith's jaw dropped all surprised. "So that's why she said she left early this morning!" said Aerith. I nodded my head yes. We looked at the guys seeing them high five each other all excited. "Juniors are so going to win this year!" said Zack happily. "Aw hell yeah we're gonna win!" said Cid. The girls and I laughed a little bit.

 _Aerith's P.O.V._

A couple hours had passed and it is pep rally time! Selina and I looked at the bleachers seeing all four grades sitting in their sections talking and laughing. I looked around the field house wondering where Taylor was. "Do you see her?" Selina asked me. "No I don't see her, usually she's easy to find, but not today." I said. We looked at our group and sat with them. Before any of us said a word, we saw the doors open and saw the freshman group with their teacher and could hear the rest of the freshman cheer for their group.

"Since when do the dance groups come out one at a time?" said Reno. "Since our freshman year." I said. I looked at the senior section seeing Taylor's softball team and I knew that they would only root for her. I looked back at the doors and saw the sophomore group walk in and heard their class cheer for them. Both freshman and sophomore groups walked onto the big mat and stood there. "Our class is next!" said Selina happily. The group and I looked at the door seeing Mr. Carter walk in with the junior dance group and we saw Taylor in the group. "There she is!" Zack yelled happily. "You got this Tay!" Reno yelled happily. "It's in the bag!" Selina yelled happily. Taylor looked at us and she smiled knowing that we're rooting for her.

We looked at the door again and saw the senior group walk in. After they got onto the mat, all four dance groups stared at each other and then walk to their class sections. Selina and I got up as Taylor walked upto us. "Tay! Why didn't you tell us that you're doing this?" I said. "I wanted it to be a surprise, but it sounds like that you guys knew about it." said Taylor. "We really didn't know to be honest." I said. "Really?" said Taylor curiously. I nodded my head yes to her question. "So how many people are in your group?" Selina asked Taylor. "30 people." said Taylor. "30?!" I said. "Yep. 15 boys and 15 girls." said Taylor. "Are they all in your dance class?" I asked. Taylor nodded her head yes to my question. "Any part of the dance that we should know about?" I asked. "I'm going to do the trick that made me tear my ACL six years ago and hopefully I don't get injured this time." said Taylor.

Me and Selina's eyes widened in shock to hear that Taylor was going to do the trick that injured her. "Are you crazy Lazarus?!" said Selina. "N-no?" said Taylor nervously. "Do you really want to see us and your boyfriend get really scared again?" I said. "No, but I want to redeem myself from that trick. I practiced this trick again ever since the school year started and I think that today's the day I can nail this move perfectly." said Taylor. We looked and saw Cloud walk upto us and stand next to Taylor. He gave her a hug and a kiss and they smiled. "Good luck sweetheart. I love you." said Cloud to Taylor. "Thank you honey. I love you too." said Taylor to Cloud. After that, Cloud went back to sit with the group, Taylor sat with her dance group, and Selina and I went to sit with our cheer-leading squad.

 _Reno's P.O.V._

I looked at the court and saw a few teachers of each grade at their student sections ready for today. "Ok students and teachers let's get this party started!" said the senior class president. I could hear the building erupt in excitement as everyone cheered. "About frickin time." I said. Cissnei punched my arm after I said that. "Ow! What was that for yo?" I said. "To make you be quiet. I want to hear the events they're doing." said Cissnei. "Alright I'll be quiet." I said. I watched her go to sit on Cid's lap so that she could see the pep rally a little better. I looked down at the front and saw Taylor stand up and begin to walk around a little bit. I turned to Zack and Cloud as they also watched her walk around.

"Cloud?" I said. "Hm?" he said. "Is she alright?" I asked him. He looked back at her and recognized that something was bothering her. "I know that walk. She's all nervous." said Cloud. "Why is she nervous?" Zack asked. "I don't know? Anxiety maybe?" said Cloud. The three of us kept on watching her wondering what she was upto something. Taylor looked and saw both Selina and Aerith looking at her as they saw how nervous she was. "I'm going over there." I said as I got up. I walked down to the front and the three girls saw me. "Hey girls." I said. "Hi Reno." said Aerith. "Hey." said Taylor. "You ok Taylor? We saw you walking around like you were nervous or something." I said. "I'm ok. Just a little anxious that's all." she said.

We looked and saw Selina stand up and she whispered something in my ear. As she whispered what she was saying, my eyes widened in shock. I looked to Taylor and she saw how nervous and concerned I have just become. "Are you serious Tay?! You know if you do that trick, you're gonna get hurt again!" I said nervously. "I know, I know. But I think that I can do this without getting hurt this time. I believe that I can do it." said Taylor calmly. I looked at Zack and Cloud as they watched a few people on the court having a pie eating contest. I turned back to Taylor and hugged her. "Don't do anything reckless ok?" I whispered to her. "I won't. I promise." she whispered.

I walked back up and sat back down next to Zack and Cloud. "Everything ok?" Cloud asked me. I looked at him and whispered in his ear what Selina had told me and Cloud felt shocked and scared at the same time. He looked at Taylor as she walked to her softball team and walked back to her dance group. Cloud started to shake all nervously wanting his girl to be fine out there when it all begins. We watched the pep rally go on for half an hour seeing people do tug-of-war, half court shots, and medicine ball toss.

 _Zack's P.O.V._

"Alright everybody! It's the moment we've all been waiting for! It's time for: Battle of the Classes!" said the senior class president. The place erupted in cheers. "The rule of this is that these four groups you see here on the mat, they have to go on one at a time, dance for three minutes, and after all groups are done they get judged by performance and decide the M.V.P. of the event." said the senior class president. I looked at the junior group with Cloud and Reno seeing them huddled together with Mr. Carter getting them hyped up. "She's hyped up." I said to Cloud. "That's my girl." said Cloud happily. Before the whole thing started, Cloud and Reno told me that Taylor was going to do the move that tore her ACL six years ago and I got nervous for her. I looked to the doors and saw Taylor's parents were there. "Taylor's parents are here too!" I said. We looked and saw them at our section seeing their daughter ready to blaze the stage. The group and I walked down to sit with Selina and Aerith so we all can get a great view of Taylor and her group.

As we looked at the junior group, Cid, Reno, and I started recognizing some of our football teammates in the dance group. "A few of our teammates in this! Now this is going to be great!" said Cid happily. I looked behind me and saw Callie walk up and hug me and Cloud from behind after she hugged Aerith and Selina. "Rooting for the seniors?" I asked her. "Nope, my team and I are rooting for Taylor and we secretly hope your grade wins instead of the seniors this year." said Callie. I smiled at Callie happily. "So Cloud, how are you and Taylor doing?" Callie asked him. "We're doing great!" said Cloud. "Did you try to do anything "naughty" to her?" said Callie. Cloud blushed red after she said that and he put his head low. "Cloud!" said Callie as she hit his arm. "You sly dog you." I said with a smirk. After a couple minutes, the event had finally begun!

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

"First up: The Freshmen!" said the senior class president. We watched the group of 19 freshmen walk onto the mat as they heard their class cheer for them. I looked at two of my friends in the dance group, Flint Chandler and Brett Casey, as we watched the freshmen walk onto the mat. "Why do I have a feeling that this one is going to be bad?" I asked them. The two boys looked at me all surprised from my question. "What do you mean Tay?" said Flint. "Either one of them in this group is going to do something inappropriate or going to get hurt during this one." I said. "If they do one or both of those, they will lose for sure." said Brett. I nodded my head in agreement.

I looked at the teacher that lead them onto the mat and instantly recognized her. My jaw dropped slightly all surprised. "No way!" I said. "What?" said Flint. "The teacher that lead them here is our old math teacher." I said. They looked at her and they were shocked. "Oh shit, this is going to be good!" said Flint. "Hell yeah." I said. "Freshmen, you may begin." said the senior class president.

Once their song began to play, my dance group and I got hyped since this song is one of our absolute favorites three years ago. I watched the freshmen do splits, dropkicks, and a few backflips at certain points but I noticed that no one in the group got a solo, which is pretty sad to be honest with you. Maybe they weren't as confident as I thought they would be. All in all, they did pretty good by picking a good song and some good moves, but nobody had gotten a solo to shine in the spotlight. As they finished and walked off, I looked at Selina and the rest of my group as only she and Aerith know that I can be a little dance critic from time to time. I looked around the place and saw my parents there with my uncle Marx and my aunt Mary, I waved at them and they waved back happily.

"Sophomores, you're up!" said the senior class president. We watched the sophomores walk up with their teacher onto the mat and stood in their positions. I looked at Flint as he noticed his little brother in the sophomore group. "You got this Liam!" said Flint. Liam looked at his brother and smiled at him. "Sophomores, you may begin." said the senior class president. Their song turned on and I instantly knew the song once I heard the first beat of it. I closed my eyes and smiled for a few seconds and opened my eyes again seeing the action on the court. I saw a few of them doing head spins, triple tucks, being thrown high in the air doing splits, and front and back flips and Liam got a solo which was really good to see! He did a quadruple back flip and hand spring which he nailed perfectly and I knew immediately that his class is my grade's competition. Their performance ended and they went back to their side of the court. Right now it's my grade's turn to blaze the stage!

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

"Ok everyone, it's time for the Juniors!" said the senior class president. I could hear our group cheer loudly as we watched Taylor walk onto the mat. I looked at both Aerith and Selina and they sat right next to each other all scared and nervous if Taylor was going to fall and hurt herself. The three of us closed our eyes and did a quick littler prayer hoping that Taylor will be ok today. I opened my eyes and saw Callie and the rest of her softball team walk over and sat at our section rooting for their captain. "You got this Speedy!" said one of their teammates. Taylor looked at them and she smiled for a second and then she got herself focused again. "You can do it babe, I know that you can do it." I said quietly to myself.

"Juniors, you may begin." said the senior class president. Once their song had begun, our grade happily lost their minds knowing that everyone knows this song and it's a really good song. They were doing flips, splits on the ground and in the air, throwing each other in the air, dropkicks, and head spins. During the middle of it, they got in a line as one kid was going to roll under them and Taylor moon walked in front of them which got everyone in the place excited. As we watched other people get group solos, I watched Taylor and two of her friends stand together in line and I knew that this was the trick that got her hurt. They did five back flips and then landed on their left knees as the song ended and Taylor didn't fall and she didn't get hurt as we watched her stand up!

"She did it!" Selina yelled happily. Zack and Reno tackled me a little bit as we were happy about the whole thing. We watched Taylor and her group hug each other and saw tears falling on their faces happily. "What's with the tears guys?" the senior class president asked them. Mr. Carter walked up and took the mic. I looked at Taylor's family as they teared up too knowing that they're so proud of her just like I am. "This routine we just did here, we did this six years ago and I lost this girl right here to an ACL injury in her left knee and she had to stop dancing for an entire year. After that, she came back stronger than ever because she knew that these kids needed her as their leader to keep them going, showing them that no injury can stop you from what you love to do and keep on following your dreams." said Mr. Carter while crying too.

Taylor walked off the mat and hugged her family for a few minutes and my group and I smiled happily knowing that she just made her comeback and redeemed herself. After hugging her family, she started walking towards me and I got up and held her tight in my arms. "I'm so proud of you Tay." I whispered in her ear. I looked into her eyes seeing her all amazed of what just happened and she was lost for words right now. "I love you." I said. "I love you too." she said happily. We turned to our group and saw them start hugging Taylor happily. We all sat back down together and watched the senior dance group perform and they did a similar dance like the sophomores did. I looked at Taylor's face and saw that she was not amused of this dance at all.

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

The Battle of the Classes has ended and it was time to hear who won it this year. I looked at my dance group as I was sitting with Cloud. "Alright everybody, we got the results for this year's Battle of the Classes!" said the senior class president. For the first time ever at any of these events, I began to shake nervously. I took Cloud's hand and held it tight. "You alright Taylor?" Cloud asked me. "Dude she's shaking!" said Zack. "She's so nervous!" said Selina. Cloud wrapped his arms around me and put me on his lap. We looked and saw Callie sit next to us as she saw me shaking. "Don't be nervous Tay; we all loved your performance. It doesn't matter what place you get. All that matters is that you had fun and that you made your comeback ok?" said Callie.

I looked at her and smiled happily and finally calmed down. Callie and the group smiled happily too. "In fourth place is: the Seniors!" said the senior class president. Callie's jaw dropped in shock and then she looked at me seeing a smirk on my face. "You are loving this are you?" said Callie. I nodded my head yes and let out a little laugh. Callie looked at Cloud and the rest of my group after they heard me laugh. "In third place is: the Freshman!" said the senior class president. I looked at the freshman section seeing them jump around like crazy. "Geez calm down animals." I said. Cloud and the group laughed at my comment.

I got up from Cloud's lap and stood up next to Callie as we looked out to the mat. I looked at my dance team as they knelt down and Callie and I did the same. Callie looked and saw Cloud and the group scoot upto us a little bit. "In second place is: the Sophomores!" said the senior class president. Once he said that, Callie, Cloud, and the rest of my group tackled me to the ground all happy knowing now that my dance group had just won! "And the winner of Battle of the Classes this year is the Juniors!" said the senior class president. After hugging everyone from my main group, softball team, dance group, and my family members, the pep rally was over and it was time to head home.

I went home with my parents, Callie, Cloud, Zack, Aerith, Reno, Selina, Cid, and Cissnei. We all walked into my house and watched my parents walk to the kitchen while the rest of us walked downstairs to the basement and talked for an hour. As we were laughing and talking, my Mom came downstairs as if she needed something. "Taylor, can you come upstairs for a minute?" she asked me. "Yeah sure." I said. I got up and went upstairs with her. "Is something wrong?" I asked her. "No, nothing's wrong sweetie. It's just that Daddy and I have to show you something." she said. "Ok?" I said curiously. We walked to the living room seeing my Dad there too. "Sit on the couch Taylor." said my Dad. I got scared for a second once he said that. My Mom and I watched him walk away for a minute and then walk back in holding a box.

"What is this?" I asked him. He put the box down in front of me onto the coffee table. "A little early birthday gift." said my Dad. I looked up at them and I saw my Mom recording on her phone. "I'm scared." I said. "Don't be honey, just open the box." said my Mom. "And you said I was the impatient one." I said to my Dad. He laughed a little bit. I looked at the box, studying it a little bit, and finally opened it. I looked inside and I felt excited and surprised. I covered my mouth and looked at my parents seeing them smile and laugh. "Well what's in there?" said my Dad. I picked up the thing inside the box and took it out. "It's a puppy." I said. My Dad sat down next to me seeing how happy I was with the puppy in my arms. "You know what breed he is?" he asked me. "A Bernese Mountain Dog." I said. I looked at the puppy's little brown eyes and he started licking my face happily and he got me to laugh happily. "Did you read his tag Taylor?" my Mom asked. I looked at the tag and saw the puppy's name. "Tempo." I said. "That's his name." said my Dad.

I put Tempo on the couch and hugged my Dad as he saw happy tears in my eyes. "Thank you Daddy." I cried happily. "You're welcome sweetheart." he said happily. I walked upto my Mom and hugged her too. "Thank you Mommy." I cried happily. "You're welcome baby girl." she said happily. Tempo barked happily to get my attention and it worked. I picked him up and held him. "Can I go show them?" I asked my parents. "Go right ahead." said my Dad. I walked to the basement door, opened it, and closed it again once I walked in. "Hey guys." I said. Everyone looked at me and saw Tempo in my arms. "You got a new dog?!" said Selina. I watched the girls nearly fight each other as I put Tempo on the ground knowing that they want to pet him. "Calm down animals." said Reno. The guys and I laughed at Reno's comment. We all sat on the floor and played with Tempo for an hour.

After that we all went upstairs to eat dinner together before the group went home for the night. Cloud and I walked to my room after my parents left to see my Mom's mother for a little bit. Tempo followed us as he saw me pick up his new bed and put it next to my bed. Tempo walked onto his new bed, layed down, and fell asleep within three minutes. We smiled happily as the puppy slept. "So, did you have a good day?" Cloud asked. "I sure did." I said. "I'm happy that you had a good day." he said. I hugged him for a couple minutes happily. "Hey babe?" said Cloud. "Yeah?" I said. "Can I ask you something?" he said. "Sure, what is it?" I said.

Cloud took a deep breath and looked back at me. He took both my hands and held them in his. "Taylor, will you go to prom with me?" he asked shyly. "Yes!" I said happily. I jumped into his arms and we fell onto a beanbag chair. We laughed in pure joy for a few minutes and then finally calmed down. We layed back on my bed watching a movie as we relaxed. "Cloudy?" I said sweetly. "Hm? What is it Tay?" said Cloud tiredly as he yawned. "Do you know when junior prom is?" I asked him. "The school said that our prom is on April 12th." he said. "A Friday?" I said. Cloud nodded his head yes. I showed a little smile and kissed his cheek. "I love you so much." I said. "I love you too sweetheart." said Cloud. After that, we slept for the night knowing that today has been a really good day overall.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 8 of the series! So far, this is the longest chapter of the series until a few future chapters in the story. The songs used in the Battle of the Classes were: The Next Episode (San Holo Remix), Wrecking Ball (Caked Up Remix), Disconnected by Monstercat, and Turn Up by Vic (Caked Up Remix). I do not own these songs in any means. They were only used for entertainment purposes.**

 **Next time, Chapter 9: Coffee House. It's the annual Choral Coffee House at NHS! Selina, Aerith, Callie, and Taylor get to sing solos in front of their loved ones for the first time and both Taylor and Callie will be your hosts for the show.**


	9. Chapter 9: Coffee House

**Chapter 9: Coffee House**

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

Today is Friday, February 15th and it is the annual Choral Coffee House at NHS in the cafeteria! I love this part of the choral year because my choral group and I get to have some fun while watching our friends sing for the night. Alot of my friends in my choir auditioned for this in October, including Selina, Aerith, Callie, and myself. After about a month we auditioned, Selina and Aerith got in for solos while Callie and I got in as MCs for the show! I really don't mind being an MC, but I was a tiny bit upset that I didn't get a solo once I found out about it. Mr. Cole said my audition was fantastic and the song I chose fitted my voice perfectly, but he was shocked that I didn't get a solo at all. I don't blame him at all to be honest with you. It was just an audition and sometimes you get the short end of the stick in auditions, but that's ok because it can teach you how to do better in the next audition.

The reason why we do this show in the cafeteria is because we needed spots to plug in the coffee makers and to place out some food on a few tables for everyone attending to have something to eat or drink. And the room is huge for everyone to get in too. Callie and I got our cue cards yesterday and we've been practicing ever since. To our whole choir, they think that we make the perfect duo as we both work together really well and saying a few jokes from time to time that are actually funny. We both know that the entire softball team is coming tonight to see their two captains having some fun performing tonight.

I stayed after school today with Callie, Selina, and Aerith to help set up for the show tonight. I helped setting up the speakers and microphones while Aerith and Callie helped with the food and drinks. Selina helped with the tables keeping them perfectly straight and perfectly clean. After setting up the speakers and mics, I brought in the keyboard and tested it out making sure everything sounds great and it did. I tested the mics and speakers and they sounded great. "Callie!" I said into the microphone. "What Speedy?" she said. "Time for your mic test." I said. "Ok." she said. Callie walked upto the mic. "You did your mic test already?" she asked me. "Yep." I said.

Callie finished her mic test and we saw both Aerith and Selina walk upto the mics practicing their song. After they finished, we saw the other soloists and little groups walk in practicing their songs. I walked to the cafeteria next door and closed the door quietly. I sat on one of the tables, took out my cue cards, and read them silently to memorize every word. "Taylor?" said a voice. I looked up and turned to my right seeing Mr. Cole looking at me. "Hey Mr. Cole." I said. "Do you remember the song you auditioned with?" he asked me. _"Lost Boy_ by Ruth B? _"_ I said. "Yes, that's the song." he said. "Yeah… why?" I asked. "You better practice that song right now because you're singing that song tonight." he said with a smile.

I dropped my jaw slightly and then smiled. "You mean that I got my solo?" I said happily. "You sure did." said Mr. Cole. "Thank you." I said happily. "You're welcome." he said happily. He walked next door checking out everything. I took out my cellphone and immediately called my Mom. "Come on pick up, pick up." I said anxiously. _"Hello?"_ said my Mom. "Hi Mom." I said. _"Hi sweetie. Are you alright?"_ she asked worriedly. "I'm fine Mom, where are you and Dad?" I asked. _"We're at home with Cloud and his parents. Why, is there something wrong?"_ she said. "No nothing's wrong with that. It's just… do you remember when I auditioned for Coffee House and I didn't get a solo?" I said. _"Yeah… why?"_ she said. "Mr. Cole just told me that I got my solo." I said happily. _"You did?!"_ she said. "I did. I'm singing my solo tonight." I said. _"Congratulations sweetie! You know that Daddy and I are so proud of you."_ she said happily. "Thank you Mom, and hey can you tell Cloud about this for me? I'm going to be busy practicing my song and reading cue cards until you guys get here." I said. _"I will tell him about it. Go practice and don't strain your voice ok?"_ she said. "Ok. Love you." I said. _"Love you too sweetheart."_ she said happily.

I hung up and started practicing my song for a half hour. After practicing, I heard my phone vibrate on the table. I picked it up and saw a text from Cloud. _"Hey pumpkin, just heard that you got your solo and I want to you know that I'm so proud of you! I can't wait to hear your beautiful voice sing tonight. Love you!"_ Cloud texted. I smiled at the text happily. I put my phone in my pocket and walked back to the show seeing everything now all set up and ready to go. "This show is going to be great." I said to myself.

 _Selina's P.O.V._

Four hours had passed by and I started seeing people walk inside. I sat down in the next room with Taylor, Aerith, and Callie waiting to see our families and friends walk inside. "Do we know how many people are coming?" I asked them. "Besides our friends and families, I have no clue." said Callie. We looked and saw a senior walk in with a three year old. "There's Ryan." said Callie. She saw his brown skater hair and his baseball hat and she knew that it was him. Ryan is a senior at our school and is on the baseball team with Cloud. He is also Callie's boyfriend ever since their freshman year. Ryan bought his ticket, saw the four of us and walked over. "Hey." said Callie. "Hey babe." said Ryan. They kissed and looked at the three year old.

"There's my little brother." said Callie. She walked upto him, picked him up, and held him in her arms. "Hi Dylan!" said Callie happily. "Hi Callie!" said Dylan happily. He looked over Callie's shoulder and saw Taylor behind her and he made a huge smile. "You see Taylor?" Callie asked. She put him down and he ran to Taylor and hugged her. "There's my little chicken nugget!" said Taylor happily as she hugged him. I couldn't help but aww at that moment. "He loves Taylor huh?" said Aerith. "He sure does. Out of all my teammates, Taylor is his favorite." said Callie. We looked over and saw Callie's parents walk in and they waved at us. Taylor brought Dylan back to them and Ryan left to sit with them.

About a few minutes later, I saw my Dad and Emma walk in with both Aerith and Taylor's parents and then finally saw Reno, Zack, and Cloud walk in. I noticed that Taylor and Callie were on the other side of the room between the doors. I walked over to them and saw them talking to their softball team as they saw them. The two of them walked next door and went to their team. I looked back at Aerith and the boys as they looked at me as I walked back. "Where'd they just go?" Zack asked me. "To sit with their softball team." I said. "Doesn't their season start in six weeks?" said Reno. "The same day my baseball season starts." said Cloud.

We got up and walked into the next room seeing everybody getting their food, drinks, and seats. I looked at Taylor seeing her carry Dylan on her shoulders and hearing him laugh. I grabbed one of the show pamphlets as the rest of the group got stuff to eat and drink and we sat with our families for now.

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

I looked at the table Taylor was at with Callie talking to each other and I saw my little cousin there with them. I stood up and walked over to them. As I walked over, Taylor instantly recognized me. "Dylan look! Who is that?" said Taylor happily. He looked at me and ran over to me. "Cloud!" said Dylan happily. "Hey buddy!" I said happily as I picked him up and hugged him. "You giving the girls trouble?" I asked him. "No?" he said curiously. I lightly laughed and ruffled his hair which made him laugh and hide his face into the crook of my neck.

"Having fun you two?" said Callie. "A little bit." I said as I sat down next to Taylor. I looked at her and I closed my eyes halfway lovingly and she did the same. "Hi." I said lovingly. "Hi." said Taylor lovingly. I leaned over to her and kissed her for about 3 seconds. Our lips let go and we smiled genuinely at each other. "Guys, look at him." said Callie as she pointed at Dylan. We looked at him and saw that he was a little surprised of what we just did. "You ok?" I asked him. "She's your new girlfriend?" he asked. I nodded my head yes to my question. "She is. I've been dating her for almost two months now. Do you remember when I told you that I'm dating her?" I said. Dylan nodded his head yes.

He looked at Taylor as I put my arm around her as we looked at him. "Taylor?" said Dylan. "Yeah?" said Taylor. "You kiss him better than his last ten girlfriends." said Dylan. My face turned red and saw that Zack and the rest of me and Taylor's group sitting next to us at another table hearing them cheer a little bit. "You really think so?" Taylor asked Dylan. "Yeah, that's what he told me last week. He said that your kisses are sweeter than any candy in the world." he said. I looked away from Taylor and she knew that I was embarrassed. "And he also said that he is proud that he's dating the most beautiful girl in the world. His lucky star, his everything." said Dylan happily.

I could hear the girls saying "aww" as I looked away trying to put my hood on to hide my face. Before I could pull the strings, I felt a hand on my face. I instantly knew that it was Taylor just by her touch. "Babe?" said Taylor sweetly. I looked at her and shyly nuzzled into the palm of her hand. I saw a warm smile appear on her face and then she gently kissed me for a couple seconds. "Thank you for those very sweet words you said about me." she said genuinely. "You're welcome. I love you." I said sweetly. "I love you too." she said sweetly. "Hey Tay?" said Callie. We looked at her wondering what she's going to say. "Almost showtime." she said.

We looked back at each other and I gave her a kiss for good luck. "Cloud, you don't mind watching Dylan for awhile?" Callie asked me. "Sure, I don't mind watching him." I said. "Thanks cuz." she said happily. "You're welcome." I said. I picked him up and sat back down with me and Taylor's families.

 _Taylor's P.O.V._

After we saw everyone sit in their seats, Callie and I knew that it's showtime. "Ready Tay?" Callie asked me. "Ready." I said. We walked to the mics and took them out of their stands. "Good evening everyone and welcome to our annual Coffee House. My name is Callie Strife and this is my co-host Taylor Lazarus. We will be your hosts for tonight." said Callie. "Before we start the show, in case of an emergency, the exits are right here at this door next to me over there and also at the entrance to the parking lot. Also, this show is being recorded by the Nibelheim City Television and this recording will be on their channel next week at 6:30 p.m. next Friday." I said.

I looked at Callie and nodded my head knowing that my little speech was done. "With all that said I hope that you all will enjoy the show tonight." said Callie. "And we promise that the show will be done at 9:00 p.m. so that alot of our Mom's can watch Scandal." I said. We could hear alot of Mom's cheer for that. Callie and I looked at Cloud and Ryan shake their heads in embarrassment. I looked behind myself and saw the Freshman Choir walk onto the rafters as Callie announced them walking into the room. After she announced them, we put the mics back on their stands and walked to our team.

I looked over seeing Dylan quietly get off Cloud's lap and walked over to me. "You wanna sit with me?" I asked him sweetly. He nodded his head yes to my question. I picked him up and put him on my lap. Callie looked at me and saw her little brother sitting on my lap. "Dylan?" said Callie curiously. Dylan and I looked at Callie wondering what's going on. "Aren't you supposed to be with your cousin?" she asked him. I looked up and saw Cloud begin to panic. "I got this." I said as I picked Dylan up and put him on my shoulders. We looked at him and saw a huge smile on his face.

Callie saw both Cloud and Ryan looking at us and seeing Dylan on my shoulders. They both breathed a sigh of relief. I looked next door seeing both Aerith and Selina there knowing their song will start in 5 minutes. I slowly stood up and walked next door to stay with them while keeping Dylan on my shoulders. "You're hired as the babysitter of my future children." said Selina jokingly. "Gee thanks." I said jokingly. We looked at the stage knowing that the freshman finished their stuff seven minutes ago and a soloist from the sophomore class was almost finished.

I looked at Aerith and Selina seeing them a little nervous. "You two are gonna be fine. Just pretend it's only me there, forget about everything around the both of you. You're going to sound great." I said happily. "Thanks for the confidence Taylor." said Aerith happily. "Anytime." I said happily. After saying that, we heard a knock on the door and saw Callie peek into the room. "You two ready?" she asked Aerith and Selina. They nodded their heads yes and walked upto the door. I walked out the door with them and saw both Zack and Reno take out their phones to record their girlfriends as they sat with Cloud and Ryan. As Callie introduced them, I looked at the pan flit and saw that I was next to perform!

I looked at Callie as she looked at her cue cards as she walked upto me. "What are they singing again?" I asked her. " _Brave_ by Sara Bareilles." said Callie. We looked back at Aerith and Selina hearing them sing beautifully. Callie looked at the pan flit wondering who was next. Once she saw my name and my song, she was really surprised that I got my solo after all! I took Dylan off my shoulders and gave him to Callie knowing now that it's my turn up on stage.

 _Cloud's P.O.V._

After hearing both Aerith and Selina sing together, and after both Zack and Reno's cheering, it was Taylor's turn. I took out my phone and started recording as Callie introduced her. I cheered for Taylor and she smiled happily at me. Once the keyboard played and Taylor sang, I instantly fell in love. Both of Taylor's parents saw the smile on my face as we heard their daughter sing like an angel. I looked over seeing Callie, Aerith, and Selina recording Taylor's performance too. After a couple minutes, Taylor's performance was finished and she did fantastic! I stopped recording on my phone, put it away, and walked upto Taylor as she sat with Aerith and Selina. "Great job babe." I said to Taylor. She looked up at me and smiled happily. "Thank you honey." she said. She stood up and I hugged her for a couple minutes.

The show took a ten minute intermission, which gave the girls time to eat and talk. After ten minutes, Taylor walked to the mic hosting the show again. During the show, she made sure that everyone was having a good time. After all of that, she walked to the stage with Callie, Aerith, and Selina to perform with their main choir group. Callie had a solo during one of their songs and she sang really good. About ten minutes later, the show was over. i helped Taylor clean up a little bit before leaving the building with her. We said bye to everyone and left the place with her parents. "Did you guys like the show?" Taylor asked me and her parents. "We sure did honey." said Taylor's Mom. "The three of us loved your solo the most Taylor." said Taylor's Dad. "You did?" Taylor asked happily. Her Dad nodded his head yes. Taylor smiled happily. "Did you have fun hosting?" her Mom asked. "I did actually, but I wish I could've done a few jokes up there." said Taylor. "You were great up there babe. I think you had alot of fun up there." I said. "Thanks babe." she said happily. We drove back to her house, walked inside, and played with Tempo for a little bit. After that, I kissed Taylor goodnight, went home, and slept for the night.

 **Thank you for reading Chapter 9 of the series! The songs that were in this story, I do not own the rights to them at all! They were used for entertainment purposes only. I hoped that you all liked this chapter!**

 **Next time, Chapter 10: The Perfect Date. Reno wants to make the perfect dinner date for Selina at his house and he asks Taylor, Aerith, Cissnei, and Yuffie for help and let's just say it will get pretty chaotic.**


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